Teach Me To Sin
by Magenta's Nightmare
Summary: The world is at war but there is also war in Maisie's life. She runs to escape it, not knowing if she'll ever find peace or happiness. *This is a Merle/OC AU story with NON-CON in the first chapter (I would not say it's graphic though)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 _~1942, Sweetwater, Georgia (winter)_

 ** _##########################_**

The wind was picking up and rain was in the air. Dead leaves skittered across the gravel path and Maisie felt a chill run through her body. Pulling her wool cardigan tighter around her shoulders, she couldn't help but hear the conversation inside. It looked more bleak from her perspective the more they spoke.

All the songs she'd heard and all the book she'd read spoke of love and romance but it was an illusion. Those factors existed in the lives of other women, maybe women in cities with cars and buildings that reached the sky. Maybe in a time without war. There must exist somewhere, cosmopolitan women who had lovers and jobs and lives independent of the ties that bound her. Maisie was 24 and her life was not hers.

Books took her out of the logging community she was born into and showed her places in her mind that she wanted to see. These books told of great romances where one's heart ruled the day and not the economic benefits of a certain partnership. She had a vision in her mind of being swept off her feet by a strong man with a good heart and passion in his soul for only her, maybe she was far too whimsical for this world. Her version of happiness was not something she had ever witnessed. Marriage appeared to be very much like a business proposition from what she'd witnessed. A man working and a woman raising kids and keeping the home, both parties had a position and a job to do. She didn't see men and women wrapped up in each others embrace where she lived, couples almost looked like siblings.

It was war time and not a time for having a head full of fluff, as her father had repeatedly told her. During war it was selfish to think of yourself and not others. There were men, women and children overseas being bombed back to the stone age and she should be so lucky just to have a roof over her head.

It sounded like a fair argument to her, so much so that she had no idea if she was selfish or not anymore.

She was going to be married the next time Rodger Pederson had leave from his training and that was something she didn't have a say in. She'd been to one local dance with him and now she was going to be his wife. The entire circumstance had been agreed upon with her pressumed consent behind closed doors and then dropped in her lap just that afternoon.

"He's a good man, Maisie, you'll be very happy," her mother insisted.

"I really don't know him very well, Mother."

"Your father and I do, we know the whole family and they are all good people. His family own a lumber yard, Maisie, you'll never want for anything. You really couldn't ask for anything more than a man like Rodger."

This was a loaded statement. It could be taken as is or it could be taken as 'you cannot ask for more because you won't get it'. This is the way it sounded to her.

She was taken to church the next morning and told to pray for more maturity and gratitude for her many blessings. Maisie knelt in the pew, clasped her hands and bowed her head.

 _ **Please, Lord, make me less selfish...make me somehow love this man. Help me to stop wanting more...**_

Full conscription had come through and Rodger, who had been in university, was going to be leaving for the battlefield in Europe. Marrying a man who'd be going off to war seemed strange to her but it was happening all around her. All her friends had been or were being married off as well. It was as if people could pretend the war wasn't happening if you could just keep people getting married and babies being born. She didn't understand it but was still forced to take part in the facade.

When Rodger returned from training and he was a new man from what little she remembered. He was very serious now and the humor he once possessed was replaced by bravado that she found obnoxious. None of this mattered, they were still married on a gloomy day with little fan fair.

She'd be a married woman and forced to live with his parents until he returned from the war as if they were protecting their investment by watching over her.

After a simple ceremony at their church there was a reception at the town hall and then she was taken to the only hotel in town. Maisie sat on the edge of a bench as he checked them in and clenched her hands nervously, wishing she had run far away but there was nowhere to run.

"Come on," he grinned down at her.

She followed and carried her suitcase into the room and set it on the dresser.

"You aren't nervous, are you?" he asked. "Didn't your mother talk to you about this?"

Maisie shook her head and sighed. How was she supposed to not be apprehensive being thrown into a sexual relationship with a near stranger?

"Lucky for you I know what I'm doing...at least one of us will," he remarked with a dry laugh.

"You mean you've-" she began, knowing full well what he meant. Apparently waiting for marriage was something he expected of her but not himself.

"It's different for men, sweetheart. Besides if I didn't know what I was doing then we'd be here all night trying to consummate this thing."

Maisie shuddered when he told her to go get cleaned up, she wanted to run.

Maisie put on the pure white nightdress given to her by her new mother in law and looked at her face in the bathroom mirror.

He'll only be home a few days, she thought, I just need to get through a few days.

She walked out of the bathroom to find him already in bed.

"Turn off the light, will you?" he said, casually.

Maisie sat down on the edge of the bed wishing her mother had explained this to her. The sparse details she'd learned about physical love from friends at school were highly suspect and hard to believe. Her married friends were surprisingly quiet on the subject of sex and the only advice she'd been given was to relax and go with it.

It hardly sounded enjoyable, it sounded like something to be endured.

She lay back and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"Don't be a child now," he said, climbing over her and pushing up her gown.

"Wait...wait..." she uttered.

He sighed and looked down at her.

"You're a married woman now, Maisie, you have certain obligations."

He held her by the back of her neck and pressed his dry lips to hers.

His hands touched her roughly under her gown, grabbing at her flesh and she struggled against him.

He was getting annoyed quickly and pinned her arms above her head.

"Hey! Relax now...want me to send you back to your daddy?"

"Yes!" she shouted.

"Lower your damn voice and stop your fighting," he scolded.

He forced his knees between hers and before she knew what hit her it was happening, he was too strong for her to fight off.

She screeched and tried to squirm to get him off of her but it was useless. Eventually she gave in when he threatened to smack her but a rage burned inside her heart that would continue to simmer for a long time.

Afterward Maisie wanted to kill him and herself, she felt tainted and like a part of her was destroyed.

Rodger stayed 3 more days and didn't try to sleep with her again. He called her names and cursed her when they were alone and ignored her when people were around.

Before he left he told her to get herself together because he expected a wife and not a child.

He returned sooner than she expected.

Within 4 months Rodger was back in Sweetwater but he'd never walk or have sex with her or anyone else again. Rodger sustained injuries to his legs and spine and he was bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his days.

Maisie became a maid for him and a nurse for all his daily needs. Her family expected it of her and told her over and over how glad she should be that he had survived...

########################################################################

 **Just a few notes about this story. It's a story that is not overly plot heavy, It's more of a character driven piece where the relationship IS the story. There is some plot for sure but it's not as twisty turny mysterious as some of my recent stories have attempted to be.**

 **There is a huge sexual element to this story as well and it's a very slow, sensual, erotic, romantic tale...at least that was my aim.**

 **I had the good fortune of meeting a man who was able to lend his talent to this story by writing some very essential poetry that was necessary to the love story. His poetry is erotic, romantic and beautiful and I'm SO grateful for his contribution to this labor of love.**

 **This story is for Merle lovers and I hope maybe some people new to Merle stories will like it as well.**

 **Love you Teagan. xoxo**

 **P.S. I'm posting 3 chapters today but spreading them out by a couple hours. I was waiting till the site was functioning properly to post this because it makes it easier to respond to your reviews and communicate.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

 _*1942 Sweetwater, Georgia (Spring)_

 _ **##################################**_

Maisie's days were long and there was no sign of it ending. They were going to stay living with his parents now that he was disabled and she dreaded the rest of her life with them. His parents were even more cold than hers.

Her mom and dad were practical to a fault and thought nothing of emotions. It was true that there was a world war going on and that everyone had to grow up and be less selfish but they could barely stand the sight of her and that was plain to see.

Rodger's parents had infinite love but only for him. Even though she tried to do as they expected and care for him it was never enough. Rodger had become even more short tempered now that he had the bitterness of never walking again on his mind. Maisie even tried to be compassionate to his situation but he was cruel and thoughtless with her.

She was up every day at dawn preparing bread for baking, cooking for him and his parents as well as doing laundry and a hundred other tasks. She had become a maid to them and her life lost all color and shine. Maisie was made to bathe the man who had attacked her and she shuddered at the thought of even touching him. Every morning she had to wash and dress him and she began hating life. There was no refuge from it either, she was discouraged from wasting time reading or doing very much besides work.

"Your man's needs come first, Maisie. Reading is for schoolgirls and scholars and you are neither," her mother in law, Lydia, informed her.

Maisie contemplated ending it all. It struck her one day that she was dying inside anyway and she wanted to get it over with.

She didn't look forward to anything anymore. All the dreams she'd had, although many of them admittedly fanciful, were over. The idea of romance, passion, lust, companionship...all of it was gone.

The weather was getting warm during the days but was still cool in the evening and one night as she was hanging sheets on the clothesline she picked up a chill that resulted in a nasty chest cold. Lydia told her quit her barking every time she coughed but they wouldn't take her to the doctor in town.

"It's just a cough, you don't need to see the doctor for a cough," her father in law said. "Don't go making Rodger sick though, wear a mask across your mouth when you care for him."

Maisie tried to think of a way she could bear to end her life but she was afraid of it as well. She really didn't want to die but couldn't imagine going on this way.

The night the decision was made for her was the worst of her life. Rodger's parents were having a dinner party and she, along with a few servants, were working to get the house in order. She didn't share a room with Rodger due to his disability but it didn't mean she had privacy. Her mother in law insisted on going in and checking up on her and her possessions whenever the mood struck her.

Maisie was putting clean linen on her bed when the last inspection occurred.

"Is everything ready for dinner, Maisie?"

"I think so, Ma'am."

"Good...good. Do you really need all these books here? You really don't have time for such things now that you're married, do you?"

Maisie's heart jumped and she turned to look at her.

"I only read at night when my work is finished."

"You should be spending your evenings with Rodger."

"I do, Ma'am, but he goes to sleep early quite often...it's only when he doesn't need me that I read."

"Go and get the table set, Maisie."

She knew the books would be gone when she came back to her room and an hour later when she returned to dress for dinner they were. She'd owned many of the books since childhood and they were her last link to hope. She didn't care what happened anymore. Escaping to a world that wasn't ugly and empty through books was her only joy she had and they'd taken that as well.

Her parents attended the dinner party that night and she stood next to Rodger wondering how many Aspirin it would take to kill herself.

Her parents and in laws made fun of her pouting over losing her books and teased her that a housewife needed books like a hole in the head.

Maisie pardoned herself to the kitchen to cry, she couldn't take it one more minute.

"What are you doing in here?" her mother in law bellowed when she came in to ask a question of their cook.

"Nothing, Ma'am," she answered on instinct.

"Listen to me and listen well. We took you in here and you married our son, we expect a wife for him and not a child. You are a selfish and spoiled little girl who cares more about your damn books than you do our son and I'm sick of it!"

Maisie stood in disbelief that she'd raise her voice with a house full of guests, she had no idea how to respond to her ire so she didn't.

"Nothing to say for yourself?" she demanded.

"No, Ma'am."

"So you don't deny not caring for him?"

Maisie couldn't say she loved him, she didn't plan to walk the earth much longer anyway and she refused to say she loved him. Her life had taken a turn from miserable to unbearable and she'd had all she could take.

"Your son is cruel and bitter, Ma'am."

"What did you just say?"

"Your son is a bitter and cowardly rapist and I wish he hadn't come home alive!"

She was smacked across the face so hard her ear rang loudly and her skin burned hot like embers.

"Get out! Get out of my house you whore!"

She was grabbed by the scruff of her dress and dragged to the back door.

Lydia pushed her out the door and onto the grass and she felt somehow elated. She laughed to herself like a madwoman as her parents looked down at her on the ground from the back step.

"She's lost her mind! Your daughter isn't fit to be anyone's wife!" she screamed at them. "Take her off of our property and expect papers from our solicitor!"

Maisie didn't want to go home either so she sprang to her feet and ran like the wind.

"Maisie, get back here!" her father hollered.

She ran fast and refused to stop but had no idea where she was going to go. The woods around Sweetwater were thick at the base of the mountain and she decided to catch a breath there, where she could hide and collect her thoughts.

She had to run away. Suicide was a sin and she didn't have it in her to go through with it anyway.

Maisie had never been out of Sweetwater alone and had no idea which way to run so she decided the mountain was the way to go. If she took a road out of town they'd just scoop her up and bring her back.

It felt like a terrifying adventure suddenly and she was mad with desperation to get away so she did something she never thought he would, she stole a horse. Her parents owned 4 horses, including a beautiful white mare, so she waited till the lights went out in her old house before absconding with the animal. She was an avid rider but it was no easy task in her leather formal shoes and a party dress. The animal was thankfully saddled and she began up the mountainside into the unknown.

She would never come back and if it came to it she'd sooner die alone and free in the woods than after years of misery in Sweetwater.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Maisie rode upward into the trees and didn't stop for even a breath. The mare was hesitant on the uneven ground and as the incline became more steep she had to dismount and walk the horse into the woods alongside her.

It was dark and cool, she kept telling herself she wasn't scared but she was lying to herself. Her cough persisted and the cold, damp air wasn't helping at all. If she could have waited till she was healthy she would have but one more day was out of the question, she had to speak up. All around her were shadows and sounds that seemed more sinister in the dark. She had no idea where she was going, she had no food or water. Maisie was beginning to think she'd made a huge mistake but there was no turning back now.

When she was 2 hours into her journey her feet throbbed so badly she had to stop. Dress shoes where no match for the terrain so she stopped to rest her feet. She hitched the mare to a tree and looked around her, she was sure she could smell a camp fire. She followed the smell of burning wood for a few minutes just to see if she could find someone. Maisie wasn't entirely sure if finding someone in the woods was a good thing or not, if someone was so far removed from town maybe there was a reason for it.

She continued on and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a man pouring water over flames in a fire pit. The man tossed a cigarette on the smoldering ash and then a little more water. She didn't move or breathe as she watched his shadow in the dark. He stopped by a tree, with his back to her, to urinate and her eyes went wide but she dare not make her presence known to him.

A few minutes passed and the man wandered into a small A framed cabin.

It began to rain and she noticed a shed behind the cabin. She decided she'd sleep there and risk the stranger getting angry at her rather than freeze in the elements.

She crept toward the cabin and around to the shed as the rain continued to fall in heavy drops. The door was not locked and she counted her lucky stars as she made her way inside. All around her were barrels filled with little crab apples, chokecherries and wine bottles, apparently the man made wine here. She crouched down in a corner and tried to eat an apple that was so sour she gave up. Maisie shivered in the evening chill, rethinking everything that had happened and wondering how her life had come to this. She tried not to cough so the man wouldn't hear her in the cabin but it wasn't easy. If she could rise early maybe the man would never know she was there in the first place. The idea of sleep seemed impossible with the rain beating down on the roof and hunger beginning to brew in her stomach.

 **##################################**

"What the hell are you doin' in there?"

A loud voice cut through the air and her eyes shot open and looked up.

He looked almost six foot tall and his voice was gravely and harsh.

"I'm sorry..." she offered but she began to cough uncontrollably again.

"Where did you come from?" he demanded, still sounding harsh and loud.

"Sweetwater," she answered.

"And you're lost all the way out here?" he asked.

"No, sir, I ran away."

She would guess he was in his late 30s but it was hard to say. He reached down to grab her arm to lift her up and she flinched.

"Come on then, I'll take ya back."

"No!" she squeaked before having another coughing fit.

"I'm not lettin' you wander off in the woods."

"Hey...wait...no!" she stuttered as he pulled her toward the cabin.

When she dug her heels into the dirt with fear he growled and bent down to pick her up and lay her over his shoulder. He opened the door with one hand as she hung over his shoulder staring at the back of his legs in disbelief.

"Put me down!" she screamed.

"You gonna behave?" he growled.

"I am behaving for Christ sake! Put me down!"

"You're hysterical, woman! You gonna cool it?"

She stopped struggling and hung limp over his shoulder trying to convince him to release her.

"Good girl," he answered and let her down to the floor.

"What are you, a lunatic?" she exclaimed, glaring at him.

"You come along and break into my shed and call _me_ a lunatic? I'm taking you back to Sweetwater before you get yourself killed."

"No! I'm never going back there!"

She got up and headed for the door knowing he'd likely stop her.

"If ya keep running you'll end up dead in the woods. There ain't nothing out there, no more sheds to sleep in."

She turned and looked at him for a moment.

"There has to be something up the mountain."

"There ain't. This is the last piece of civilization up this way."

She shook her head but still left the cabin to go retrieve her horse.

The man followed her out and she could hear him behind her.

"What are you runnin' from, girl?"

She didn't turn to look at him but did pause, she felt lost and defeated. Maisie realized she was running away to nowhere.

"Everything...I hate my life, my husband, my family. I'd sooner die than go back."

She began to cough again and he shook his head, looking at her with utter confusion.

"I'll go get my horse. I'm very sorry I bothered you."

"You have a bad cough. You need a roof over your head."

"I know but I have nowhere to go," she shrugged.

There was a silence and she finally turned to look at his face.

"I don't have much but...if you wanted to you could stay here."

A sheepdog ran over to his side and he bent down to pet it's head as he waited for her answer.

Maisie needed help and she had no other options. She figured he must be a decent man to be concerned about her cough and her safety.

"I'd be very grateful," she said.

He told her to go inside while he went to retrieve her horse. The man returned a few minutes later and tied her horse up outside.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Maisie."

"I'm Merle, the dog is Connie."

She was amused that he introduced the dog, who was now vying for her attention by pushing it's head into her lap.

"Thank you so much...is there anything else you want to know about me?"

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me anything. I just don't want you out in the cold with that cough."

She nodded and pet the dog for a while as he put a pot of water over the fire for tea.

Maisie watched him intently as he moved. He had short, grayish-blonde hair and wore trousers with black suspenders and a shirt that probably used to be white. She could see that he was strong, his arms were big and his shoulders were broad. He looked nothing like Rodger or her father or anyone else she'd ever met in fact. He looked like he belonged in the woods and in the rustic cabin, like he was a man of the land and could blend in completely.

Soon he was handing her a hot drink then said he needed to get back to his wine.

"You just stay next to the fire and keep warm...make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Merle."

"I'm sorry I was so short with you, Miss, it's been a long time since I talked with anyone new. It seems I've lost all my manners."

"I understand, it's fine."

She sat, staring into the fire and drank the tea he'd given her. The tea tasted sweet and she realized he'd put honey in it for her and she smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

_**This story is as popular as head lice but I'm going to keep posting it because...it's already written and why not? Lol Also I am very proud of it:)**_

 _ **In later chapters I included some sexy poems written by my friend Drew and I wanted someone to read what he wrote because I think he did a beautiful job. Also maybe listen to 'Wilde Mountain Thyme' by The Real McKenzies it's the song in this chapter and it's super romantic:)**_

 _ **Thanks so Krissy and Jrod77 for reading this, you mean the world to me:)**_

 _ **Chapter Four**_

Maisie spent the first day working on earning her keep and cleaning Merle's house, it's what she was used to. She tied up her long black hair with a piece of string she found in his house and kept busy, despite her cough.

Merle didn't say very much when he'd pop in for the odd item and seemed to eye her warely.

The cabin was one small room with a table, a chair, a fire and little else. There was a kitchen counter, some pots and pans and up a ladder was a small loft. The loft was just plain floorboards, nothing more and she figured this must be where he slept. When she was sure he was busy she followed her curiosity up the ladder and found a large bearskin, some blankets and a single pillow.

The man lived all alone and she felt sad for him as she wondered why. He had chickens outside and Connie the sheepdog but no other living thing resided there.

Over the course of the day he told her only that he sold wine that he made. He earned a small income for necessities like soap, tobacco and some canned food. He appeared to live a very simple life and kept completely to himself.

In the late afternoon Merle collected some berries and flowers for her to boil in water on the fire and she asked him what they were.

"Elderberries and Elderflowers, you just boil em and drink it. I got honey on the shelf there if ya want some...it's for your cough."

"Thank you."

She boiled the berries and flowers for fifteen minutes as he advised and then strained the red liquid into one of the many wine bottles he had in his home. She added a little honey and drank a few glasses. It tasted sweet and did seem to help her cough quite a bit.

She was sweeping up the floor of the cabin when she heard his voice from outside as he chopped wood for the fire. It was a folk song she'd heard before and she loved the way he sang it. She always thought it was a very romantic song and she stopped to listen to him.

 _ **Well, the summertime is comin'**_

 _ **and the trees are sweetly bloomin'**_

 _ **and the wild mountain thyme**_

 _ **grows around the blooming heather**_

 _ **will ye go, lassie, go?**_

 _ **I will build my love a tower**_

 _ **near the pure and crystal fountain**_

 _ **and upon it I will pile**_

 _ **all the flowers from the mountain**_

 _ **will ye go, lassie, go?**_

 _ **and we'll all together to pick wild mountain thyme**_

 _ **all around the blooming heather**_

 _ **will ye go, lassie, go?**_

 _ **If my true love she did leave me**_

 _ **I would surely find another**_

 _ **where the wild mountain thyme**_

 _ **grows around the blooming heather**_

 _ **will ye go, lassie, go?**_

When evening fell he came inside from working in the shed and she fed him some canned stew and biscuits. She drank more of the tea to suppress her cough as the coughing was giving her a headache.

"What are your plans then?" he asked when he sat down at the table.

"I can leave whenever you want me to. I just need to know which way to go."

"I didn't mean you had to leave...where are you trying to get to anyway?"

"I have no idea really, I just can't go back. To be honest I'm terrified."

"This world ain't no place for a scared woman that doesn't know where she's headed."

"I know."

"Eat some food, girl. You'll never be rid of that cough by starving yourself."

"I couldn't," she shrugged.

"You will," he insisted.

She could tell he wasn't the arguing type so she sat on a footstool with a bowl of the stew and nodded her head.

"Thank you."

"I'm not going to sit and eat while you watch, I'm not a monster," he smiled.

It was the first time she'd seen him smile and it caught her completely off guard but she liked it.

"Maybe you could stay until you know what you want then," he suggested without looking up at her.

"I'll earn my keep, I swear," she offered immediately.

"I'm not looking for a maid but if you wanted to help me with the wine I'd appreciate it greatly. Spring is here and I have a lot of work to do."

"I'd be happy to if you could show me what to do."

"It's easy enough, I'll show ya."

She cleaned up the dishes in a pail of water and used the outhouse before bed. The sky was full of stars and she couldn't believe where she was or anything else about the last few days. She felt safe and happy as she sat on the front step to pet Connie for a moment. The dog rested it's head in her lap and she grinned down at it.

The glow of candles from inside the cabin gave it a warm appearance from outside and she could hear Merle humming the folk song again as she looked up at the stars. She felt completely at peace suddenly for the first time in maybe years.

Eventually she came inside and asked where she should sleep. Merle was sat at the table with a glass of wine and his pipe and motioned over to the ladder.

"I'll stay down here, you go on up," he nodded.

She looked around and found nothing that looked hospitable for sleeping.

"There's nowhere for you to sleep down here."

"I'll manage. You need to sleep up where it stays warm, you're sick."

"I don't feel right taking your bed, there's more than enough room for us both."

He hesitated and shrugged his shoulders.

"Merle, I insist."

"Drink some more of tea before bed," he suggested.

Maisie finished another glass of the sweet red tea and he told her to go up first to get ready for bed.

She climbed the ladder and crawled on her hands and knees onto the bearskin. The ceiling was low and she couldn't stand up straight but it was cozy and warm and she was grateful for somewhere to stay. She took off her dress and rolled it up to put under her head for a pillow. Sleeping in her slip was hardly ideal but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Are you decent up there?" he hollered.

"Yes."

He climbed up the ladder and told her to turn to the wall or else she'd catch an eyeful. Maisie laughed and rolled over to the wall as he got undressed and under a blanket next to her. Merle took her dress out from under her head and gave her the pillow.

"You need a pillow, you're sick," he said.

There wasn't much arguing with him so she didn't bother.

"Thank you...goodnight."

"Goodnight and God bless," he answered and then yawned, rolling over to face the other wall.

She watched the rise and fall of his shoulder as he breathed and soon he was fast asleep.

Her cough pestered her for a while longer now that she was lying down but eventually sleep overcame her as well.

The loft was easily the coziest place she'd ever been and somehow sharing it with a man she'd just met didn't feel strange. She just knew he wouldn't hurt her but she didn't know how. She found she could relax in his presence and rest, she couldn't remember feeling so at peace with anyone before.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

The next day, after a good night's rest, Maisie felt brighter and wanted to help him with his work. Merle needed a lot of apples peeled for the first wine of the season he made, crab apple wine. It was going to be a dry and hard wine and she told him she'd get all the apples ready.

"You sure you shouldn't stay in bed?" he asked.

"The cold will settle deeper in my chest if I spend all day laying down."

"I guess that's true but rest when you need to."

She only had the one dress to her name and wondered what she'd wear when she washed it. Merle gave her an apron to collect all the apple peels that he planned to feed to the chickens.

Maisie sat, peeling apples on the porch, and staring off into the woods. Merle walked out and said he was going to haul water up from the well for a wash and to stay out front unless she wanted to 'catch an eyeful', she loved that phrase already.

She nodded her head as he walked around the cabin to the backyard with a towel over his shoulder.

She continued to use the paring knife to peel the skins from the apples but her mind was wandering. She felt guilty about where her mind was going, he'd been so kind to her and yet now she was picturing him undressed. She found him completely intriguing, there was just something about his casual manner and simple ways. Her feelings for him surprised her but Merle was a very different man than any she'd known and she didn't fear him.

Soon she couldn't fight the urge to peek at him, it was a bad thing to do but she'd never seen a man naked before. Her wedding night involved assault but no actual nudity strangely enough.

Maisie could hear the water being splashed around and got up to tiptoe around the side of the cabin. She froze with her eyes on his bare back and her breath caught in her throat. She backed up till there was almost no chance he'd see her and just watched him.

Merle turned then and poured a cup of water over his head and growled to himself. All the water from the well was cold as ice, it was very bracing.

Her eyes drifted down his body to his dick and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He stood on the grass as the dog wandered around and collapsed next to the chicken coop. Merle took the soap and worked it in his hands as she told herself to go back to her peeling and stop invading his privacy but then he began running his hands up and down his legs and then over his abdomen and she was helpless to turn back.

The way he looked, standing in the sunshine, completely one with his surroundings was enough to make her head spin.

He picked up the soap and worked it again in his hands as he set his foot on the chopping block and proceeded to wash his business. Her mouth hung open as his hands moved over his dick and his balls and her heart began to beat so fast she felt faint. It was so wrong and forbidden for her to be spying on a man this way, especially one who had helped her but she couldn't stop herself. It was as if she needed to know she could see a man nude and not feel fear, and she didn't, she was aroused. Warm blood rose up to flood her cheeks and neck.

He scooped up more water and rinsed himself off before grabbing the towel to dry his body. Maisie felt a longing, deep down inside that was unfamiliar but so sweet.

He hadn't shown any interest in her and she was not about to approach him so she went back to her peeling with thoughts of his body littering her mind.

When he finally came back around to the front of the cabin in just his pants he looked down at her for a moment.

"Should I put on a shirt in the morning? Does this make you uncomfortable?" he asked, his wet hair dripping down his body.

"No, I don't mind at all."

"Good. I've always been alone here so I didn't even think of it."

"It's fine."

She looked up at his face but her hands kept peeling and she ran the blade into her palm.

"Damn!" she squealed.

She looked down and blood dripped onto the white apron in her lap.

"Come on," he said, lifting her up to stand and leading her into the cabin.

"Sorry...I..." she muttered.

"Shhhh...sit down right there," he insisted.

Merle grabbed a clean towel and placed it in her hand and applied hard pressure.

"Ouch!" she protested.

"Gotta stop it bleeding, honey."

She looked up at his eyes when he called her honey and smiled.

"What you grinnin' about? You damn near cut your hand off, girl," he chuckled.

"Nothing."

He held the pressure on until it finally stopped bleeding.

"Might need a couple stitches in it still," he mused.

"No!"

"You sure are a stubborn little thing."

"Please don't," she whined.

"Look at it, Maisie. It ain't gonna heal right like this. If you get sepsis there ain't a doctor for a long ways."

The cut was right in the fleshy part at the base of her thumb and she knew he was probably right. The wound was not holding together at all.

She whined and held her hand to her chest.

"It ain't that bad, I've had lots of stitches," he insisted, as he walked across the room and filled a glass with clear liquid from a bottle.

"What's this?"

"Moonshine."

"I've never had alcohol."

"Drink up."

She held the rag on the wound and watched as he gathered up a needle, thread, and some bandages from a kit under the counter.

She took a sip of the poisonous tasting fluid and coughed and choked.

"Oh my God, Merle! This isn't fit for human consumption."

"How much do you wanna to feel this?" he asked.

"Not at all."

"Keep drinking."

She forced herself to finish the drink but it was like drinking straight fire and it burned her throat.

"I can't let you do this," she argued.

"You want me to load up the horse and take you to town to see the doctor? He'll just do the same anyway."

"No."

"Then I have to, I don't want you getting infection. Can you get up to the loft?"

"I think so."

She climbed the few rungs up the ladder while trying to keep the rag clench in her hand. She felt dizzy and scared.

He followed her up and instructed her to lay down. She watched as he turned his back to her and sat at her side. He pulled her arm under his own to hold it still. It was her natural instinct to pull her arm back but he looked back at her and shook his head.

"Hold still, OK?"

She finally decided to stop fighting, there was no way out of it and now Merle was all she had in the whole world.

He poured some moonshine over the wound and she screamed out loud and smacked him on the back as hard as she could, trying to get her arm back.

"Hey now, none of that," he laughed.

She panted and whined as he held her arm steady and finished up the job with just one stitch. It didn't take long at all but for a minute it hurt like hell. He wrapped it in clean bandage and pinned it tight with a safety pin.

"All done. You gonna make it?" he asked.

"No!" she grumbled feeling angry at him for his lack of empathy.

"Awwwww, honey, you don't like me no more?"

"No," she said, rolling over and pulling his blanket over her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, honey, but you're soft like butter."

He laughed, rubbed her back and few times and descended the ladder to get back to work on the wine.

She dozed off from the shock and the moonshine and didn't awaken until Merle came back to check on her hours later.

"Hey...Maisie...pssst..."

She groaned and turned over to look at him and he was handing her a cup.

"You should drink some water."

"I'm still mad at you," she answered, but the anger wasn't in her voice the same as before. She was just grumpy about her sore hand.

"I thought ya might be so I brought ya somethin'."

She looked at him skeptically as she sat up to drink the water.

He reached down to take something out of the pocket of his coat and dropped a tiny kitten in her lap.

"What on earth?" she exclaimed.

"The supply man came while you was asleep and he was on his way to get rid of some kittens so I took this one for you, it was the only one that was weaned. Also, I told him to bring some provisions for a woman as well so..."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I was married and I know women need certain things for when they...and you might be here a while and-"

"Oh! Thank you for thinking of that."

"Fitz is from Sweetwater so I just said my sister is staying for a while."

"Quick thinking," she winked.

She sat cross legged on the bearskin and petted the little orange kitten with her good hand. Maisie looked up at him with a huge smile.

"Forgiven?" he asked.

"Forgiven...thank you, Merle."

"I saw a lot of bad injuries in the war and I got a bit desensitized, I think...sorry for not being nicer about it."

"I understand," she answered, and she did. The war was ugly and seemed unending. A single stitch after what he'd witnessed probably seemed like nothing at all but now he recognized that it wasn't nothing to her. A man who could see his own flaws and apologize wasn't something she'd ever seen before.

Her hand throbbed for the rest of the day but she didn't want to keep being childish about it so she let it go.

He made chicken soup for supper to help with her cold.

Merle had a garden plot that he was starting to prepare for spring seeding and Fitz had brought him vegetables to eat and seeds in exchange for some wine he'd made last year. The soup was heaven and he insisted she eat all she could to help combat the cold she was fighting off.

Merle read a book for a while after supper and smoked his pipe as she tidied up. They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm already and she felt at home with him.

"I only have a few books but you're welcome to them," he offered and right then she knew he was someone very special, he was sharing everything he had with her.

He told her she should go to bed early and she did feel tired so she went up to the loft to sleep on the bearskin, it was surprisingly comfortable. She curled up with her kitten purring in her arms and soon she drifted off.

Her sleep was interrupted later that night when Merle was nudging her shoulder to rouse her.

"Hey...Maisie, you should take these," he said, handing her two small pills.

She could only just see the pills in his hand as he handed them to her and she did feel a little out of it as she tried to sit up. It was dark and he had been sleeping next to her so she figured it must be the middle of the night. He lit a lantern so he could see her better and gave her some water for swallowing the pills.

"What is it?"

"It's Aspirin, you feel warm. I think you have a touch of fever."

"Do I?" she asked. She did feel disorientated but not especially sick.

He placed his hand on her forehead and she could feel the cold sweat then.

"Oh...I guess so."

"Take them and let me look at your hand."

He had no shirt on and she stared at his chest.

She swallowed the pills and he unwrapped her hand to inspect the wound.

"It looks OK. It must be that cough that's making you hot."

"I'm alright," she insisted, knowing how hard he'd been working.

"I'm gonna get you some Elderberry tea."

Merle disappeared down the ladder and she could hear him clattering around to get her a mug of tea.

He climbed the ladder a minute later and handed her the drink.

"I feel bad," she said, overwhelmed by all he'd done for her.

"Why?"

"I just dropped into your life...you don't know me and I'm taking your help and I have nothing to offer you."

"I feel good just to have someone to be useful to...I haven't had that in a long time."

He lay down next to her and she wanted to know more but was afraid to ask. Fortunately he began to speak and filled her in a little about himself.

"I had a wife before I left for the war and two children. I used to have people to take care of but she found someone else while I was gone. That's why I'm alone here."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's OK. She just didn't want me back. She never said what I did but I must have done something."

"Don't say that, Merle, you're a good man."

"I was sent back from overseas, almost blinded in my right eye and yet everything was crystal clear for the first time...she never really loved me and she found someone else to be a father to my children. "

She could see the shadow of his sad expression in the dark and it made her feel a need to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't burden you with this. I just haven't spoken to anyone but Fitz and Connie in ages. I was starting to think I'd never hear a woman's voice again."

She felt so many things all at once in that moment. They were both completely alone in the world and she could tell how lonely he'd been, isolating himself from the world. It wasn't about attraction then, although she was attracted, it was about human compassion and comfort.

"Come here," she whispered, holding her arm open to him.

He moved closer and reached for her body and she was pulled against him. Merle lay his hand on her back and pulled her into his arms. She could feel the warmth radiating from his body to hers. They were just two people with nowhere to go and a past they'd sooner forget. In the spirit of human need they were pulled together.

Nobody in the world knew where she was and she was free from her family and Rodger. She was with a man who wanted only to hold her, it was exactly what she needed.

Maisie lay her hand on his bare waist and crept closer taking in the scent of his skin.

"I'm glad you turned up here...I've been so lonely," he whispered and she smiled to herself. "Me too."

 **#############################**

 _This chapter captures the essence of this story. There is more plot twist at the very end but the bulk of this story is relationship development. It will be slow and romantic like this and involve some erotic poetry and wine. I hope you'll keep going on this journey with me even if Merle isn't your #1 guy. I'm going to try hard to make you fall in love with him by the end of this thing._

 _I appreciate the support you give me for following my muse that pushes me toward less popular characters. Merle is just my boo, I can't help it._

 _Love, Teagan. XoXo_

 _ **THE FOLLOWING NOTE CAN BE DISREGARDED IF YOU HAVE NO PROBELM WITH THE CHARACTER OF MAISIE AND BELIEVE SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE HER OWN PERSONAL DECISIONS REGARDING HER BODY, SEXUALITY AND LIFE:)**_

 _ *** I didn't want to include this but as a woman I thought it was important to say.**_

 _ ***questions or comments regarding Maisie and her decision making regarding her own sexuality after being raped can be forwarded to my PM box rather than reviews. A woman choosing to become sexually active 6 months after being raped is her own decision and one that should be respected.**_

 _ **If a woman is scared for years, that's valid.**_

 _ **If a woman needs therapy, that's valid.**_

 _ **If a woman never has sex again, that's valid.**_

 _ **If a woman chooses to have sex again the moment she feels physically ready, that's valid.**_

 _ **It is not for anyone to critique the responses of other women to anything as personal as rape! I will not abide slut shaming of any victim of rape, fictitious or otherwise, as it promotes negative stereotypes of other women. Maisie is a woman who has always longed for romantic/sexual love and HER choice is to pursue it with a man she trusts and not let her rape define her. This is HER story and not intended to be a judgment on anyone else's choices or experiences. I swear it's getting harder and harder to just tell stories:(**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

In two more days Maisie's cough had lifted and Merle suggested they take her horse out for a ride to give it some exercise. Her hand was still sore but the skin was holding together nicely thanks to the stitch and it had scabbed over. He said she could likely have it out in another day or two.

"I feel so much better, my throat was hurting from coughing so much," she sighed.

His TLC and chicken soup had done wonders for her immune system and her spirit.

She watched as he untied the horse and brushed it down.

"That cough was bad. I thought I'd have to take you to the doctor. How's your hand doing now?" he asked.

"It's fine. You're a good doctor, Merle," she grinned. She took his elbow in her hand, ever so gently, and then walked over to the porch to put her kitten in the cabin.

"You gonna name that little thing?" he asked.

"I think I'll call her Ginger."

"You know it's a male, right?" he laughed.

"Really? Oh," she shrugged. "Ginger still works."

"You wanna go to the lake?" he asked. "It's not very far."

"Sure."

They both rode her mare through the trees and she held on around his waist. They hadn't even talked about her possible plans to leave. She didn't want to go anywhere and he didn't seem to be in any hurry to be rid of her. She was helping him with his wine and they were spending the evenings sitting next to the fire in amiable comfort. He'd read books and smoke his pipe and she'd cuddle her kitten, it felt completely normal. She still hadn't taken him up on his offer of books yet but she would soon, she just enjoyed watching him read.

Merle told her about the army and the fighting overseas. He had been a scribe with his regiment until his right eye was injured in an explosion and he was sent home. The bright light of the explosion had given him what the doctors called 'flash blindness' and they said he'd never see properly again but he managed well despite the injury, the vision in his left eye was enough for him to get along.

She wanted to tell him about why she had run away and she could tell he wanted to know but she felt embarrassed to tell him she'd been attacked by her own husband. Merle seemed like he'd been through enough and he'd done so much for her that she didn't want to burden him with her problems.

The sun was shining bright through the trees and she lay her face against his back as he led the mare through the woods to the lake. When they arrived he got down from the horse and hitched it to a tree next to the water and then reached up to help her down. She was normally more than competent with riding but her hand was still sore and he didn't want her reinjuring it.

"It's really warm today," she said, feeling drawn to the water's edge.

"It'll be getting nice and hot soon. Gotta get the garden moving along now," he commented, watching her sliding her feet out of her shoes.

"I'll help with the garden," she said.

"So you'll be staying for a while then," he grinned.

"As long as you'll have me."

She started to walk into the water and it was cool but not cold, not to her anyway.

"You gonna swim with your dress on?" he asked.

"It could use the washing," she sighed.

Maisie looked back at him and smiled, wondering if she could coax him into the water with her. She hadn't been swimming since she was a child but the lake was completely isolated and she wanted to see him out of his shirt again. Maisie had developed feelings for him but wasn't sure how to approach it for fear of ruining what they had. She didn't know if she was what he needed or wanted anyway, he may want someone with more life experience than she had.

"Come in the water with me," she called, bending down to skim her fingers over the surface.

He laughed and shook his head at her. "Didn't bring my trunks though, honey. Come to think of it, I don't swim."

Maisie couldn't resist the water and she felt so free with Merle. For the first time in her whole life her parents weren't breathing down her neck, telling her all the things she was doing wrong. Life could be like a story and she could be the author.

"Turn around," she winked.

Merle did as she asked and she peeled her dress and slip off and tossed them onto the shore at his feet.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed. He bent down to pick up her clothes to hang them on a tree branch, his back still turned to her.

Maisie giggled and sank down into the water to hide herself.

"Come on in...I'll turn around for you if you like," she teased.

"I'm good," he relented, starting on the buttons of his shirt. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his hands moving further down his shirt and then he shrugged his shoulders out of his suspenders. Maisie could feel her face turning red and her wide grin was almost hurting her cheeks.

He hung up his shirt on a branch then unzipped his pants as she gawked unapologetically.

After her wedding night she never thought she'd want to be around an undressed man again but she trusted Merle completely, he was almost skittish around her sometimes.

He looked over at her for a moment as if to check that she was sure so she nodded her head and he pushed his pants down his legs. He was wearing plaid boxer shorts and he looked good enough to eat. She'd already seen him naked while he was washing but he wasn't aware of that so he was still hesitant.

She squealed softly to herself and sank her entire body under the surface to wet her hair.

Finally he came walking toward the water and dipped his foot in.

"It's freezing, Maisie!"

He pulled his foot back and she giggled, splashing water at his legs.

"Hey! Watch it, little girl!" he shouted but he was laughing too.

"Little girl? Get in here, I'll show you a little girl!"

She splashed him again and he growled, running into the water after her.

Maisie squealed and laughed hysterically as he grabbed for her under the water. He finally got his arms around her body and they snaked around her bare waist. In only her bra and panties she could feel different parts of his body against hers as he moved in closer.

"Are you cold blooded, woman?" he gasped as his body finally sank under the water in front of her. He started to shiver and pulled her in tight, desperate for her body heat.

"It's not that cold," she teased.

"Yes, it is," he argued, clinging to her.

"So you're not going to attack me now?" she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No, I'm just trying not to freeze to death!" he complained.

"Come here then, I'll save you," she laughed, wrapping her legs around his waist to cover more of his skin in her warmth.

With their near naked bodies pressed together and the water up to their necks she could feel herself reacting to him as she snuggled her face into his neck.

"I just knew you'd test me," he sighed, holding her up with his hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry...do you want me to let go?"

"I probably should but no."

"I want to keep you," she whispered in a sleepy voice with her head laying on his shoulder.

Being with Merle felt right, like they were kindred spirits all alone in the woods with nobody to tell them that what they were doing was socially inappropriate. They could make up their own rules and she just loved being close to him, holding him in the loft, watching him read in the evening and listening to him sing.

"God works in mysterious ways," he said, his teeth beginning to chatter.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

He paused to trail his fingertips across the back of her neck and then dropped his forehead to her bare shoulder.

"I prayed for company just before you showed up. I've been alone here for almost two years and it's been getting to me lately. I asked God to send me somebody but I never thought he actually would."

Maisie fell completely, right then and there.

"I prayed too, he answered us both."

 **###############################**

 **We're getting there, just nice and slow and romantic. Like I said, the plot is low in this and it's more of a character piece and relationship story. There is some outside plot at the end but it's just Merle and Maisie and in the next 10 chapters, it'll get hotter and hotter;) and more romantic. This one has been such a joy to write:) I love me some Merle. Lol**

 **Love, Teagan XOXO**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

Holding Merle close in the water eventually went back to more playful splashing around and goofiness. She felt like she was making him uncomfortable by getting so close, like there was something stopping him from seeing her in that light but she wasn't sure what it was.

Maisie just loved being near him, even if he wasn't ready or didn't want to pursue anything with her. None of the people in her old life were patient or kind or considered to her needs, Merle was different from everyone. He was good to her and she wanted to be good to him in return. He was gentle and kind and so attractive to her. The way he'd smile at her made her feel special to him and she couldn't even say why, there was just something in his eyes that made her feel good.

When they got back to the cabin late that afternoon she asked if he had some shampoo to wash her hair in the backyard.

"Yes, and if you give me an hour and I'll get you something better than cold water in the backyard," he smiled.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You'll see."

She shrugged and started making some food as he put a huge pot of water over the fire and began to heat it up. He walked out to the shed and brought in a thin steel tub for her.  
"Stop it! You have a tub?" she squealed.

"I never use it but I figured you'd like it. I washed Connie in it once," he laughed. He washed out the tub and began filling it with hot water for her as she prepared supper.

"You're the best, you know that don't you?" she grinned.

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"I'm washing my clothes in this water after I'm done. I can't take it anymore," she chuckled.

"Good idea...I have a sleep shirt you can wear if you like."

Soon the tub was full and she looked at it with a dreamy expression. Before leaving, he grabbed a longer button up shirt from the small dresser on the main level and handed it to her.

"Where have you been all my life," she grinned.

"I don't know...but I'll be outside if you need me," he nodded to her.  
Merle grabbed his pipe and walked out the front door to sit on the porch while she bathed.

Maisie looked at the tub and tore her clothes off in excitement, she couldn't wait to enjoy the steamy water. She dipped her foot in and it felt like the perfect temperature to her, burning hot. Her hair and body smelled like the lake and she wanted to smell like soap.

She stepped into the tub and there was enough room to sit but not too much more. It didn't matter though, it was heaven.

She filled a mug with water and dumped it over her head and groaned in delight. Closing her eyes, she remembered Merle running his soapy hands all over his body and she started to feel flooded with desire. She worked the bar in her own hands and stood up to run them along her naked body as he had. She imagined it was his hands and not hers touching her everywhere. Merle had been married and she couldn't stop picturing him making love. He knew things she didn't, things she wanted to know.

Soon she was clean and went straight to washing her dress, slip, bra and panties. She couldn't bear one more day in dirty clothes.

Maisie slipped into his sleep shirt and it came down to her knees so it would work until morning when her clothes were dry. The sleeves were far too long so she rolled them up to her elbows.

She stepped out onto the porch and asked if he had a clothesline where she could hang her clothes.

"Get inside, woman, you'll get sick again. I'll take that for you," he said, grabbing her clothes to wring them out on the porch. She watched through the one window in the cabin as he squeezed the water out of her panties and hung them over the rail. She could clearly see the very moment it dawned on him that she had no underwear on and she grinned at his stunned expression.  
She knew that sex could be a good thing but she had absolutely no experience and knew nothing about seduction. How could she possibly let him know she wanted to get closer? That she wanted him to hold her and kiss her? Maisie didn't want sex until she met Merle and now she felt like she wanted it but wished she knew more about it. Her mother had told her only not to do it until marriage and nothing more.

Maisie knew she wanted him but the details were unknown. Both her parents were no help with anything adult and just spoke a lot about hell fire and brimstone. Agnes and Joseph Carlson were a quite happy to pretend it was the 1600s and that everything she did was a sin. They cared about nothing beyond religion, money and their reputation which she had surely destroyed now. Maisie believed in God but it was a different God than the vengeful, angry one they worshiped. She believed God was forgiving and could read your heart and know your intentions. In her mind God knew she was good despite her desires. She had tried to be a good married woman and it had blown up in her face, now she wanted love and it didn't feel like too much to ask for.

Merle made his way inside after hanging all her clothes on the rail for her.

"Did you want a glass of wine?" he asked. "You still haven't tried my wine."

"Yes, please," she smiled. Her parents never allowed her to drink but they were not an issue anymore and she wanted to try the wine he was so proud of.

Merle walked into the cabin and grabbed a dusty bottle from off a high shelf.

"This one's special," he grinned. "It's a chokecherry wine from the first year I was out here."

"Sounds good."

An hour later she was on her second glass of sweet but strong chokecherry wine and eyeing up his bookshelf. Merle watched her fidget with the hem of his sleep shirt as she sat on the foot stool. She refused to take his chair even after repeated offers.

"You said I could read a book, right?" she asked.

"Go ahead, honey. What's mine is yours."

She smiled and went to the stack of books and read the spines to see if there was anything she recognized, she was excited to see they were all new to her. She felt a little giddy from the wine and picked out a book of poetry instead of a novel since her mind was a bit too fuzzy to follow a story.

Maisie grabbed a quilt and spread it on the floor to lay down and read.

"What 'cha doing?" he asked.

"You only have the one chair and I wanted to lay down and read some poems," she explained, laying down on her belly.

"Poems? Oh, honey!" he said, getting up quick and grabbing the book out of her hands.

"What's the matter?" she asked, sitting up straight.

"That's not really appropriate for you," he said, placing the book on the kitchen table.

"Really? What do you mean?"

"It's...adult."

"Merle, I'm an adult. Lemme see it."

"Nope," he said, picking it up before she could take it off the table.

"Is it naughty?" she grinned.

He played keep away with her as she swiped at the air over her head, trying to get her hands on the book.

She found reaching up was lifting the shirt to dangerous levels of her thighs but she wanted the book. She decided to tickle him to get him to lower his arms and it worked like a charm so she snatched the book and ran for the ladder while he was laughing.

"Maisie!" he growled. She laughed and scrambled up out of his reach and up the ladder. She heard him start to laugh hysterically and looked down to see why.

"You know, Maisie, you may want to be more careful climbing up a ladder with a bare ass under that shirt," he chuckled.

Maisie looked down at him with a stunned expression. He grinned up at her and casually walked back to the table to finish his wine.

She came back down the ladder but she wasn't done trying to get his attention. She wanted him to start taking her more seriously but had no idea how, maybe being direct was the only way.

"I'm reading it," she informed him.

"Alright then but don't blame me if you get sinful thoughts keeping you up all night," he laughed.

"I'm sure I can handle some poems," she answered, laying back down on the quilt to read.

She sipped the wine and read the book, looking for something naughty but some of it was rambling and some was complicated. She finally settled on a good one and grinned as she read it out loud.

" _ **Enthralled**_

 _ **Teach me to sin-**_

 _ **In love's forbidden ways,**_

 _ **For you can make all passion pure;**_

 _ **The magic lure of your sweet eyes**_

 _ **Each shape of sin makes virtue praise**_

 _ **Teach me to sin-**_

 _ **Enslave me to your wanton charms,**_

 _ **Crush me in your velvet arms**_

 _ **And make me, make me love you**_

 _ **Make me fire your blood with new desire,**_

 _ **And make me kiss you - lip and limb,**_

 _ **Till senses reel and pulses swim**_

 _ **Aye! Even if you hate me**_

 _ **Teach me to sin"**_

She looked back over her shoulder and Merle looked serious, almost mad and she didn't understand.

"Are you OK?" she asked. "Am I making you angry?"

"No, honey...not angry."

Maisie turned back to the book and flipped through the pages some more and rubbed her feet against each other trying to think why he might be upset with her.

"Maisie...do you even know that you're beautiful?"

She smiled to herself and looked back at him.

"You think so?" she asked.

"I know so."

She caught him looking at her bare legs and she had a feeling she was finally getting to him.

"Merle, tell me about love."

"Love?" he laughed.

"...yes, tell me what you know about making love."

 **Poem credit: Alfred Bryan**

######################################

 **I am posting another chapter later this afternoon:) I told a reader that a certain part was coming in the next chapter but I was wrong it's chapter 8 so I'm posting that today as well:) Thank you for all the support. Love you!**

 **Teagan xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Merle just looked at her face for a moment before speaking.

"Didn't you say you have a husband?"

"He knows nothing about making love, nothing."

"What do you want to know?" he asked, tentatively.

"Anything you can tell me. My mother told me nothing. I'm completely ignorant about it...but I know that what happened to me isn't the way it's supposed to be."

Maisie bit her lower lip and hoped she wouldn't regret saying anything.

"What happened to you?" he asked, looking suddenly concerned.

She'd have to tell him someday, she had to tell someone. Maybe he wouldn't want her if he knew but something told her he'd understand.

"On my wedding night...I was forced into it," she shrugged, unable to look in his eyes. "He raped me."

Merle looked agitated and clenched his fists.

"What's the bastard's name?" he asked.

"Rodger Pederson."

"Pederson Lumber?"

"That's the one."

"What did he do to you, Maisie? Tell me exactly what he did."

Merle was standing now, pacing the floor and she was rethinking telling him. He looked enraged.

"He...just held me down and forced himself on me. He said it's not rape if we're married but it sure felt like it to me."

"So this is why you ran away."

"Yes. That, and his family is a horrible bunch of people who hate me."

"And this was your first time? With that animal?"

"It was the only time, he came back from the war disabled. My mother never told me what to expect...I was scared and he got angry with me. He said he'd smack me if I didn't stop fighting but I did try to stop him."

"Son of a bitch!" he growled.

She didn't know what to say, she hadn't expected this kind of anger.

After a few minutes of watching him pace the floor he stopped and looked down at her, she could see his demeanor had calmed a little.

"I'm sorry that happened, honey. It ain't supposed to be anything like that, not at all."

"What is it like when it's right?"

"It's wonderful, Maisie. I hope someday you can discover that for yourself. Not all men are like that, I promise you."

"Can you tell me about it?"

He just looked at her and she didn't know what he was thinking but she jumped in head first anyway, he was the only person she ever trusted to ask.

"Maybe...you could show me."

"Maisie..."

He obviously didn't know what to say and she'd made him uncomfortable. She wanted to take it back but couldn't.

"It's OK if you don't want to," she smiled, looking down at her hands as she stood up. "Being my age and living in the dark about such things isn't easy but since I got here I was feeling like maybe you could be the one."

She shrugged her shoulders and put the book down on the table.

It looked to her, from his shocked expression, like it was not something he was willing to entertain. She took hold of the ladder and climbed halfway up.

"Please, just pretend I didn't say anything. I don't want to lose what we have. I just let my mouth get away from me...maybe it was the wine."

Maisie crawled onto the bearskin and lay back with her head on the pillow, wondering what he was thinking and if it would be the same tomorrow.

Soon she heard him coming up the ladder and she tried to pretend she wasn't about to cry.

"We gotta talk, honey."

"It's OK. I know you're a man of God and we aren't married and I'm damaged now anyway."

"You are not damaged, Maisie."

"Well, you know what I mean...I'm sullied and impure."

"He's the damaged one, not you."

She just looked at him and hoped he really meant it.

"Do you really know nothing about it?" he asked.

"Not really, just bits and pieces."

"Why would you ever want it to be me?" he asked, laying down next to her. "I already had someone decide they don't want me, why would you?"

"I feel so good when I'm with you, Merle. I think you're so attractive and-"

"Me?"

"I've been thinking of you a lot. I thought maybe if you liked me too then we could be together...but it's OK if you don't. I appreciate everything you've done anyway, nobody has ever been so kind to me."

"Jesus," he sighed, turning to look at her. "I'm crazy for you, Maisie, but I don't know if I could do this."

"I understand," she said, softly. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. I just don't know how these things work or how to talk about it."

He didn't answer for a long time and then he took her hand in his and just looked her fingers for a moment.

"It's just that I don't ever want to hurt you or scare you without meaning to, honey."

"Does it always hurt?" she asked.

"It shouldn't hurt at all if it's done right."

"How does a person do it right?"

"It has to be slow and willing and with love."

Maisie didn't know quite what he thought but he didn't say no so she was hopeful. She squirmed closer to him, she wanted to be in his arms no matter what he decided. She loved being in his arms in the loft, it was like her own personal piece of heaven where she could be his even if only in her mind.

He took her into his arms and she lay her head on his chest, listening to his heart.

Maisie waited for him to speak, she could tell he was thinking it over and that he needed a minute.

"The thing is, honey, when people do things like this they normally work up to it. You have to get to know the other person and trust them with your body, it's gotta be slow."

Everything he said to her reinforced her instincts about him, he was a good man who understood how to treat others.

"I know you're the right man for me, Merle, I can feel it."

"I care about you, Maisie, more than I thought I'd care about anyone again. I can only be with you if it's slow, I won't risk hurting you. It has to be that way."

"So you'll teach me?" she grinned and got up on her elbow to look down at him.

"Yeah...I'll teach you to sin, just like the poem," he smiled. "There's steps though so you gotta be patient."

"I can be patient," she insisted, snuggling back into his arms.

"Might be harder than you think," he said, running his hand up and down her back.

"So, what's the first step?" she asked.

"I think this is it."

"I never had a nice kiss before," she mused. "I can't wait for that."

Merle rolled her onto her side and moved his face in slowly and she closed her eyes well in advance just like in the movies, it's all she knew.

Merle touched her face with his hand and she felt overcome inside but it was so sweet as his lips touched hers.

After a few kisses she could feel his tongue drift over the seam of her lips and her mouth opened, she'd heard of this from a girlfriend. His tongue moved against hers and she just did what he did in response. She guessed her way through it and simply mirrored his actions back to him.

It felt like the 4th of July and New Years combined, it was perfect and her heart melted for him.

They kissed for a long time and nobody else in the entire world mattered, just him. She'd open her eyes occasionally to remind herself it was real, that he was real.

When he went back to holding her against his chest she knew he felt a little better about being with her, more comfortable.

"You never have to be scared of me, you can always tell me no," he whispered, pulling the blanket over her shoulders to cuddle in close.

"You're the best person I ever met."

"I never was so lucky as to find you, Maisie. I had nothing until you came here."

"I was meant to find you, remember?" she smiled and closed her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

_I thought it was important at this point in the story to get inside Merle's mind and understand his perspective before things proceed into an intimate relationship:) So I wrote this chapter so that we can understand him even better._

 _#################################_

 _ **Chapter 9**_

Merle had never felt so torn about anything before, Maisie had him questioning everything he thought he knew.

When he'd come up the mountain to get away from the world he was sure he was done with society and especially love and for well over a year that was true. He made his wine, read his books and spent his time walking the woods with Connie. He never thought he could be of any use to anyone again. The sky and the fresh air made him feel connected to the earth at least, even if he couldn't connect to other people.

Finding Mary with a new man upon his return was devastating and his children had both been so young when he left that they didn't know him anymore. He'd only been gone for almost 2 years but the newborn and two year old he left behind saw him as a stranger when he walked through the door. Merle decided then and there that love was a lie and that he was better off alone.

It was only recently, up in the cabin, that the nights had gotten longer and he began to pray for someone. The winter had been long and cold and the only person he ever saw was Fitz. Merle kept him supplied with booze and he, in turn, brought some necessities up for him. Sometimes Fitz would stay for a couple hours and eat with him and have a drink but that's all he had.

Finding Maisie had been something he never expected and for the first few days he hadn't known what to make of her.

She was younger than him and she'd been through something bad, that much was obvious even before she told him about Rodger.

He wanted her there though, right from the start. Maisie needed someone to be kind and he could see that plainly. It didn't take a genius to see that she hadn't had anything to smile about in a long time.

The way she slipped into his world so seamlessly and became his companion was exciting and it felt right to him but it quickly began to feel like more and it scared him too.

His heart wanted to let her in and devour him completely if that's what she wanted. His heart had no filter and wanted to love her with everything he had. This side of him was a silly, needy, romantic side that wanted her to be his wife and stay right next to him till he died. He wanted her to have his children and hold him every night. His heart wanted everything.

The only thing stopping that part of him was his mind that had a much different take on things. His mind said it was doomed and ridiculous to think she'd really want him long term. He was 36 and she was 24, he'd been married and she was practically a virgin, he'd been to war and she'd never been far from home. They had lived very different lives.

His mind said he was about to take advantage of a sweet, young woman and that trying to keep her all alone with him in the middle of nowhere was selfish. The truth was that she had pursued him, though. He never planned to make a move with her, even if he'd wanted to from the moment he lay eyes on her.

When he woke up next to her it was all of these thoughts clouding his mind. Then she opened her eyes and smiled at him like she'd been waiting years just to see his face and he knew he'd be damned cause he couldn't let her go.

Kissing her had been like a goddess approaching a lowly mortal and raising him up to some exalted status that he didn't deserve. What was it in her mind that said he should be so lucky?

He had turned it over and over in his head when she asked him to show her about love and he'd been weak. The mind told him to say no and that he'd never be right with his maker again if he made love to her, a married younger woman. In the end his heart won and the only argument it had was how she made him feel.

Her touch was like a very strong rope, binding him to her already. The first night she held him in the loft, her warming his body in the cold water of the lake, these were moments he never thought he'd experience.

He was handing away any chance at heaven to agree to this but he couldn't stop himself. Giving up an eternal life for the taste of her lips was a fair trade now and all the torment he'd surely suffer when his life ended seemed trivial in the face of it.

She reached for him then, breaking his train of thought, and he went willingly, melting into her embrace. He'd do anything she asked and he knew it but it had to be right. Pushing her or hurting her was completely out of the question and he would only proceed with great caution.

"Good morning," she said softly, her face buried in his neck.

"Good morning," he answered.

"Are we gardening today or making wine?"

"A bit of both?" he laughed. "There's always too much work here. I need to set snares this morning, see if I can get us a rabbit."

She kissed him then and he rolled onto his back, pulling her over him. If all he ever got to do was kiss her he'd die a satisfied man. Merle didn't think he'd ever kiss anyone again after what happened with is wife. Maisie's kiss was icing on the cake.

She paused after a moment and looked down into his eyes.

"Will you show me more tonight?"

"Maybe."

She grinned and kissed him once more.

"Please?"

"We'll see," he laughed at her eagerness. "I have to plan some kind of syllabus here, girl."

Maisie rolled her eyes and Ginger started to cry for her at the bottom of the ladder. She threw her leg over his waist to crawl over him and he could feel his entire body light up with desire for her. Restraint was most important to him though, he'd never forgive himself if he made her feel even a little like Rodger had.

He lay back on the bearskin and looked up at the rafters, his dick hard and starting to throb for her. He hadn't had enough privacy to relieve himself since she turned up and he was desperate now.

She kissed him and climbed down the ladder to her needy kitten.

"I'll be down in a minute, honey, OK?"

"Sure, I'll let Connie out," she answered.

He heard her leave the cabin and he closed his eyes, thinking of her naked body through the window of the cabin the night before. The way her hands moved so slowly over her skin as she stood in the candlelight. He shouldn't have been looking at her but he was only human and she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

His hand began to move faster on his dick and he thought of kissing her and touching her body. It started to overtake him quickly as he kept an ear out for her coming back in. He thought of her perfect, wet breasts and way her hands drifted slowly over them and then down her body to her hips...that's what he wanted but he'd have to be patient.

Merle wondered what she'd want or need from him or how far she'd want to go. He'd have to do a lot of listening and pay close attention to navigate the muddy waters of first time sexuality with her. She was tasking him with something very delicate but he was determined not to mess it up, he already loved her so much.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

Merle left after eating breakfast to set snares and hopefully be able to make her some rabbit stew for supper. Up in the mountains it was easy to forget the world was at war and he liked it that way, he'd done his part and lost all he had in the process.

All he wanted from life was to keep to himself until now, now all he wanted was Maisie.

Connie ran along ahead of him and rooted around for something to hunt as well. The days were getting warmer and he had everything at his fingertips, he felt great. Suddenly, anything was possible and life was in bloom again, all thanks to her.

 **##########################**

Maisie put on her clean dress and a pair of rubber boots she found in the cabin. They were too big but she'd never be able to garden in her dress shoes. Merle was right, she needed more clothes. Merle had asked the man with the supplies about bringing up a few items for her and a new pair of boots or shoes but she'd have to wait till the next day.

She took the box of seeds and sat on the grass in the back yard reading on the back of the packages how they were all supposed to be planted. The right spacing and depth would ensure they had adequate food. If all went well there would be tomatoes, carrots, onions, beans and there was even a bag of seed potatoes. She got dirty and worked hard all morning in the plot that he had cleared out. The ground was a deep black color and would be perfect for growing. Merle said he had a great crop the year before.

She was just finishing up the planting and drawing water from the well to drink and wash up when Merle returned with two rabbits.

He held them by the ears as he walked toward her and winked.

"Hope you're hungry," he grinned.

He handed them to her and she frowned at him.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Just skin 'em and gut 'em, you can feed the guts to Connie and Ginger for a treat."

"Oh God," she uttered, looking down at them.

He laughed at her apprehension.

"I got it, honey," he said, taking them back from her.

"No, you do one and I'll do the other. I want to learn."

"Yeah?"

He was proud of her for jumping out of her comfort zone this way. Not everyone was willing to try new things, especially if they were disgusting. If she was staying with him it would be a good thing for her to learn anyway. He admired the courage of a woman so young who'd been through so much taking on a completely new role this way. She had run from everything she knew and had hardly shown any fear just grit and determination.

Maisie only gagged a few times as she prepared the rabbit and he insisted she didn't have to continue but she wouldn't stop, she wanted to be helpful and make him food.

"I'm gonna make you rabbit stew for supper," he said.

"I can do it, I want to. You just work on your wine," she smiled.

He loved her determination and the way she always wanted to help. He could never get her to relax until the evening when she'd read her poems.

They were just about to eat that evening when Merle heard a commotion outside, Connie was barking loudly in the yard.

"I'll go check it out, something has Connie spooked."

"OK."

Merle stepped out of the cabin and found a man from town on a horse approaching in the distance and only then did it dawn on him that he could be looking for Maisie.

He popped his head back in the door and told her to get up in the loft and she seemed to know why immediately.

"Hey, you there!" the man shouted to him.

"Yes?"

"I'm looking for a girl, well a young woman. She's been missing a while now and there's no trace of her anywhere."

"I haven't seen anyone, nobody comes up this far."

"We think she may be in danger and mentally unstable...do you mind if I check your dwelling?"

"I don't see why it's necessary, surely I'd see a girl in there if there was one."

"It'll only take a minute, I told her family I'd be thorough."

"Fine," Merle answered, going into the cabin first as the man dismounted his horse.

"Maisie, your family sent a man to find you. He's coming in so stay quiet up there and cover yourself."

Maisie pulled Merle's blanket over her body and curled up in the fetal position.

The man entered and Merle tried to act casual.

"It really is small in here," he commented.

"Well, it's only me here."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Merle. You satisfied? I was just about to eat."

"Smells good," the man noted on his way out the door. "If you come across this woman I want you to bring her to town, her mother in law says she's not right in the head."

The man showed him a picture of Maisie on her wedding day, not smiling and staring into the distance like she wished she was somewhere else.

"I will."

The man mounted his horse and took off down the mountain and Merle breathed a huge sigh of relief as he came back inside.

He'd been having such a good time with Maisie he completely forgot that the outside world existed.

He climbed the ladder and crept toward her huddled under the blanket.

"It's OK now," he whispered to her.

She pulled the blanket down to look at him.

"Thank God."

"Maybe we should try to be more careful," he suggested as she came down the ladder.

"We will, I don't want to be dragged back there. I'd end it all."

"Don't ever say that," he said.

"I don't want to or anything but I don't want to be without you and I couldn't stand to be with them again."

"You won't be, I won't let them take you against your will."

They ate in silence for a long time, both worried that they may not be able to keep everything as it was.

"May I have more wine?" she asked.

"Of course you can, honey. Don't you know you own me?" he laughed.

He poured her some wine and she went back to the book of poems as he smoked his pipe.

She was sore from all her hard work but it felt good to have gotten the garden started, it all meant they'd be able to survive there together.

"Some of these poem are so beautiful and so true," she said, almost to herself. She felt lost in the words, making her think of Merle and all he meant to her already.

"Found another one you like?" he asked, not looking up from his book and she began to read aloud.

" _ **I loved you since the day we met  
I have done things I will always regret  
But can I keep you?  
Spend each day by your side  
No more feelings can I hide  
Can I keep you?  
Never walk away  
Always love and always stay  
Can I keep you?  
Promise me the key to your heart  
Make nothing tear us apart  
Can I keep you?  
Never leave me alone  
Your heart is my home  
Can I keep you?  
Battle each storm  
Keep each other warm  
Can I keep you?  
Can we grow old together?  
Tell me that I complete you  
Can I keep you?"**_

"You like that one?" he asked, wide eyed and hopeful.

"Yes, it sounds like I wrote it about you...does that scare you?"

"No, it makes me so happy I can't even tell you."

She smiled at him and then flipped through the pages again, laying on her belly on the quilt and rubbing her feet together.

"What poem do you like in this book?" she asked.

"There's a bunch of 'em, I like poetry."

"Read me one?"

He held his hand out for the book and went to the index to find a specific one.

" _ **A Girl**_

 _ **Her soul a deep-wave pearl**_

 _ **Dim, lucent of all lovely mysteries;**_

 _ **A face flowered for heart's ease,**_

 _ **A brow's grace soft as seas**_

 _ **Seen through faint forest-trees:**_

 _ **A mouth, the lips apart,**_

 _ **Like aspen-leaflets trembling in the breeze**_

 _ **From her tempestuous heart.**_

 _ **Such: and our souls so knit,**_

 _ **I leave a page half-writ —**_

 _ **The work begun**_

 _ **Will be to heaven's conception done,**_

 _ **If she come to it."**_

"That's really beautiful," she smiled. The sun had set and it was just them, her kitten chasing it's tail in the corner and Connie, sleeping at Merle's feet.

He reached forward to hand her back the book and she crawled toward him across the floor and knelt at his feet.

"What?" he asked, looking down at her face.

She came closer and pushed his knees apart, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pressed her face to his chest and listened to his heart beating.

"Merle, take me to bed," she whispered.

 _ ***Can I keep you? - poem by ~ Stephanie McGrath**_

 _ ***A girl – poem by ~ Michael Field**_

 _ **################################**_

 _ **I'm posting ch.11 today as well and just be prepared it's NSFW;) hope you're enjoying this story and bless you all for the positive feedback. Merle stories are less popular than Caryl but I LOVE Merle as a character and writing stories for him brings me all kinds of joy. Love you, Teagan xoxo**_


	11. Chapter 11

_What happens here may seem fast but she is very eager and he can see that so he wants to please her without crossing the line himself, as it were. It's important to remember that while it needs to go slow, and it will, she is 24 and has strong sexual desires as most 24 year old women would and I don't want her to be seen a a teen but an inexperience woman. It's going to be slow but not tippy-toe slow. There will be a good 7 chapters of experimentation at least before the deal is sealed;)_

 _ **Chapter 11**_

"Go on up, honey."

Maisie couldn't wait to kiss him again. Almost being taken back to Sweetwater made her even more determined to hold onto him. Just the idea of going back to her old life terrified her now that she was free.

Her life was finally her own. Being with Merle was a partnership and he respected her, she could tell by how he treated her and how he cared for her.

He came up the ladder a few minutes later and she was still taking off her dress.

"Sorry, honey, I thought you were done."

"It's OK. Come here," she said, tossing her dress into the corner. She was starting to think he was more bashful than she was.

Merle came to sit next to her, taking in the sight of her white slip against her pale skin. If things were different he'd love to peel it off of her, kiss her from head to toe and then make slow love to her for hours...but this was a whole other situation.

"You aren't tired, are you?" he began.

"No, I want more."

It wasn't easy to get his head around her perceptions of him. He was just an ordinary man and not some kind of sex god. His idea of making love was just enjoying it and trying to make sure the woman did too, he hoped she'd be impressed enough with that when they got there.

Merle had only ever slept with his ex wife and for all the times he thought she was enjoying it he didn't really know anymore since he had been so easily replaced. Now he'd never know if every touch and moan and kiss was just a lie. It left him afraid to disappoint Maisie, to hurt her, let her down, scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. He wanted to give her endless reasons to stay and no reasons to leave.

"I don't really know how far you want this to go. You wanna just keep it above the belt for now?"

"That sounds good," she nodded.

He crawled toward her and took her in his arms. She loved him coming closer and couldn't wait to see what he had in mind for her. His kiss was more insistent and he didn't wait to slip his tongue between her lips when he kissed her this time. After a moment he seemed to catch himself getting overly excited and paused.

"I don't wanna lose you, Maisie. I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm staying here with you...don't worry."

He held his hands on her back and she began to feel just a little faint and giddy inside. He lay her back on the bearskin and his lips were on her cheek for a second and then her neck. Maisie grabbed the back of his head as she got swept up in the moment and closed her eyes.

The only light was coming up from the lantern below so it was fairly dim in the loft. She felt his hand touch her shoulder and then move down her arm.

He was up on his hands and knees, not allowing their bodies to touch but one of his knees was between hers.

It was then that her mind lost all comprehension. His tongue slid slowly over the skin under her ear and she moaned out loud, surprising herself.

He smiled and looked at her face for a moment.

"I like that," she uttered.

"Me too," he grinned. "Do you know anything else you like?"

"Try something and I'll let you know," she purred. She didn't want to admit to him that she had no idea what she liked so she kept it vague.

"What should I do?" she whispered.

"You don't have to do a thing, honey, not a thing."

He ran his hand slowly from her cheek to her neck and then down her body to her waist. His hand moved a few times over the silk of her slip and she let out another soft moan as the tips of his fingers came so close to her breasts.

"More," she insisted.

She could feel sweet sensations in places he wasn't even touching. A throbbing, needy ache settled in her pelvic floor and she lay her arms over her face, trying to keep control of herself. Then next thing she felt was his hand moving over her breasts through her slip and her bra.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"...I love it."

He lay his warm hand just above her hip as he proceeded to kiss her neck. She couldn't believe the ability he had to make her feel so much from so little contact. His lips were strong and the scruff of his facial hair scratched at her skin but it all felt so good.

He made her feel brave and beautiful and safe. She had an overwhelming urge to feel his skin against hers.

"Would you mind taking off your shirt?" she asked.

"Sure, anything you like."

He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it.

"I love your body, Merle, you're so strong."

"Pfft!" he replied.

When he lay back down next to her she moved in to try kissing his neck since he said he liked it too. The sound he made when her lips made contact with his skin was priceless, she felt excited to know she'd made him feel something too.

His hands only barely held her, almost hovering around the edges of her skin so as not to seem forceful. He gave her so much space that she never felt trapped. She kissed lightly from his right ear to the middle of his throat and then over to his other ear as he groaned under his breath.

"Where else do you like to be kissed, Merle?"

She waited for him to answer as she ran her hands over his strong arms.

"My chest," he answered finally.

Maisie proceeded to kiss his chest, even down to his navel, and he hissed. She wondered for a moment if that was bad but when she looked up at his face his eyes were closed and he was smiling to himself.

Maisie felt comfortable with the idea that it would stay above the waist, she felt like that was a good boundary.

But she wanted his touch on her skin as well, she wanted him to touch her breasts like she had fantasized about.

She smiled, knowing he wouldn't touch her until she asked him to. Already she knew what to expect from him and she was correct, he made no move to touch her there.

She took his hand in hers and lay it on her breast through her slip and he shuddered a little. She'd never felt a touch like it before and it was amazing because it was him.

After a little while she decided she wanted just a little more. Merle's kiss moved from her neck to her chest and she ran her fingers into his hair and held him against her.

The kissing was becoming heated and she found her heart rate and breathing both increased.

"Touch me, Merle, touch my skin."

Soon he was sliding the straps of her bra and slip down her shoulder and taking her bare breast in his big hand.

It felt like heaven and it made her want more and more contact.

"What else can we do above the belt?" she whispered into his ear.

"There's plenty."

"Show me everything."

"I think you'd have to take off some clothes and I won't ask that of you."

She knew she wanted his touch and she knew he'd keep it to the agreed upon areas so she went for it. Leaping into the unknown lately had brought her nothing but happiness so she was willing to trust her instincts.

Maisie sat up and got onto her knees. Merle just waited and she knew it would be alright, she knew he had control of himself.

Her hands moved down to the hem of her slip and pulled it over her head. She'd never been in her underwear around anyone before but she'd never had a reason trust anyone this way before.

"Maisie..."

"You said above the waist...this isn't breaking the rules."

She put her hands behind her back and unfastened her bra.

Merle raised his eyebrows and sighed heavily, dying inside with anxious energy.

"You're gonna test me right from day one, aren't you?" he asked.

She pulled her bra strap from one shoulder and then let it fall from the other.

"I know you won't hurt me, Merle."

"I won't...I swear to God I won't."

Merle got up on his knees as well and took her in his arms. The way it felt to have his chest against her uncovered body was indescribable.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes."

He took her right breast in his hand and squeezed gently.

"You're too beautiful for me to be touching, honey," he whispered into her ear.

"Don't say that. I want you to touch me," she insisted.

"Sorry."

"Shhhh...come here."

Maisie lay back again on the fur and pulled him over her, she wanted to feel the weight if him on top of her.

It felt so foreign but so hot and soon she was becoming aware of a strange, slippery feeling. She heard something once about girls wetting themselves when they messed boys but surely it wasn't that. A great deal of her knowledge of sexual matters couldn't be trusted due to the sources. She could feel the cool sensation of wet silk between her legs and she stopped kissing him for a moment.

"You OK?" he asked, still holding her.

"I think so...I..."

She squirmed and adjusted her wet underwear trying to feel less awkward.

His hand touched her hip and she flinched a little, not wanting him to notice.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Nothing...I just hope that man brings me more underwear tomorrow," she sighed.

He licked her ear slowly and took her earlobe between his teeth for a second.

"Is somebody a little wet?" he growled.

"Maybe..."

He would be lying to say it wasn't turning him on or that he wasn't excited to be getting to her. His mind couldn't stop thinking of touching her there but he wouldn't even dare, they'd made a deal and he wanted her complete trust.

"That's normal, don't worry about it," he assured her.

She felt relieved and not as self conscious suddenly.

"I swear, my mother told me nothing."

"It's OK. You'll know it all soon enough. Have you had enough for tonight?"

"Have you?" she asked.

"It's all up to you, honey."

"There's nothing else you want to do?" she pressed.

"There was one other thing I was thinking about but I'm in no rush."

"What was it?" she grinned.

He bent down and whispered it into her ear and her eyes went wide as saucers.

"What do you think?" he asked.

All she could do was nod her head and smile.

Merle kissed from her neck to her collar bone and then down to her right breast.

She couldn't peel her eyes away as he took her breast in his hand and kissed his way toward her nipple, slow like a snowflake falling on a windless night.

She bit her bottom lip as his mouth neared her pink nipple and when he finally took it in his mouth she whined loudly as the sensation overtook her.

She clung to the back of his head as he licked in slow circles and then closed his mouth around it to gently suck.

"Oh God!" she cried out. She started to squirm and he got the idea she was close to falling apart already. Her eyes were closed and a soft moan was leaving her lips.

"I need more," she urged.

"What do you need, honey?"

"I don't even know..." she whined.

She started to pulled him down between her legs against her wet panties and he knew she was needing more than they had agreed to. There was only one way around it cause he wasn't breaking the treaty they'd set for anything, he wanted her trust.

He knelt over her and took her hand in his as he continued to tease her. Maisie didn't know what he was doing when he lay her own hand on her belly and started to edge it lower.

"But...Merle..."

"I'm not going to touch you down there or make you touch me, OK?" he asked.

"OK."

"Just say no if you don't like this."

She nodded her head and waited to see what was going on.

He closed his mouth over her left nipple and pushed her hand into her own underwear and she gasped at the warm, wet, sliminess of her own lips. Her knees parted to make room for her hand and she was blown away at the way her body responded to her own touch.

She was lost for a moment until his hand moved back to the side of her head and she realized she was meant to keep going. Maisie moved her fingers slowly over her own body and she could sense that there was something there to be pursued.

"It's just you, honey...go ahead."

"It feels good...Jesus..."

"Are you OK with this?"

"...yes."

As strange as it felt she couldn't stop moving her hand on her own body as he sucked her nipples like a hungry baby.

She could feel something rise up from deep in her belly like nothing she'd ever felt.

"It's...so wet.." she moaned.

"I bet it is," he groaned. "Keep going until you get there."

"Where?" she asked.

"You'll know when you get there," he insisted, moving her knee open a few more inches to make what she was doing feel even better.

Just the sensation of him moving her legs apart was so sinful and it made her lips open just a little more. She was breathing heavy and whining without a care now and it came in like a storm cloud.

Her eyes stayed shut tight and she was panting for air now.

"It's gonna to feel like you're having a heart attack but you're not. Just enjoy the way it feels and everything will be OK. Trust me," he whispered into her neck before returning to her breasts.

Merle sucked softly at both of her nipples one after the other and kissed all across her chest and then it happened.

She cried out and her hand kept moving for a second and then froze as her back arched off the bearskin.

She said no words, she just gasped and whined and panted until the feeling floated away as she tried to chase it down again.

Her mind went completely blank as she stared at the insides of her eyelids, maybe she had died and this was heaven.

She pulled her hand out of her underwear and lay back with her eyes still closed. She didn't move for a long time as she caught her breath.

When she finally looked over at him she grinned and then squealed, holding her hands to her forehead.

"What was that?"

"Nice, huh? You had an orgasm. I told ya it was wonderful."

She rolled on top of him and kissed him hard. She felt excited to know what her body was capable of and so in love with him for showing her without crossing the line. There was something about doing it herself that she found especially amazing.

"This is what I was missing out on?" she exclaimed.

"You're not missing out anymore, honey. You did it."

"Will you make love to me now?" she asked, curling up in his arms.

"Not yet, honey, there's so much more first. This was already faster than I was thinking it would go."

Maisie curled up next to him and pulled the blanket over them both. Merle stayed for a good five minutes, just holding her close, and then crept down the ladder stating that he needed to turn off the lantern and take care of something.

"I'll be back in just a minute."

"Merle...I want to touch you too."

"It's OK, honey. Tonight it's just about you. You deserve to enjoy this without thinking of anyone else. If you stay there will be all kinds of time for that."

"Please, don't say that anymore. I'm not leaving unless you want me to."

"I'll never want you to go, Maisie. I love you."

"I love you too, Merle."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

The next day they got up with the sun and she was still feeling giddy. The sensation of her own hand and his mouth was still all over her and she wanted more already but there was work to do. Merle removed the single stitch from her left hand and kissed it better, it had healed perfectly already.

Maisie made Merle his porridge and he went out to work in the shed. He was extra cuddly and asked her twice if she was OK with everything but she'd never been better. She wanted the kind of love she'd read about and just when she thought she'd never find it, here he was.

Maisie went out back an hour later and watered the garden with well water and watched Merle working on the wine. It was a joy to watch him work, he was methodical about his wine and treated it as an art. He was working in a white undershirt and his suspenders over his shoulders. His arms were strong and she loved the look of them. She collected eggs from the chickens and washed them in a bucket of water as she stared at him.

Fitz, the supply man, arrived shortly after and she stayed in the backyard. She wasn't sure how Merle wanted to handle it yet.

"Hey, Fitzy! Thanks a lot man."

"So...you got a woman here?" Fitz asked, trying to peek around the back of cabin.

"Uh...yep, my sister."

"Where the hell are you keeping her? There ain't no room in there for a woman you're not fucking," Fitz smirked.

"Jesus, Fitzy!"

"Pardon me, your majesty. Am I offending your sensibilities?" Fitz laughed. "Also, you already told me you're an only child when we got pissed up on Moonshine that time."

"Damn it!" Merle groaned. "Alright, here's the thing. I can trust you to keep your mouth shut, right?"

"You know me, I won't say nothing."

"It's Maisie Pederson."

"What the hell? People are saying she's dead!"

"Well, she ain't. You can't say that she's here."

"I won't but...why is she here anyway?"

"She ran away from her husband and by the sound of it everyone else too. She ended up taking shelter in my shed, it was all just happenstance that she wound up with me."

"Her parents are nuts and the Pedersons are cursing her name around town but I won't say nothing."

Fitz had a good load of supplies. Everything from pipe tobacco to female supplies, a few changes of clothes and some food.

"I don't think I ever actually talked to her but I've seen her around town, she's a looker."

"Yes she is," Merle answered.

"So are you and her 'acquainted'?" Fitz smirked.

"Yeah, and I gotta keep her safe, Fitz, so please don't say a word."

"I won't, relax. You gonna let me at least say hi or what?"

"Just a second."

Merle sighed and walked around the back of the cabin.

"Maisie, honey. I messed up."

She looked up from the dirt with a worried expression.

"Turns out I told Fitz I'm an only child last time I was drunk as a skunk so he knows my sister ain't visiting. He won't say anything though."

"God, I hope not."

"He won't, I can vouch for him. He wants to say hi to you, a bunch of people in Sweetwater think you're dead."

"Oh my God," she winced.

They walked around the front and Fitz was lighting a cigarette.

"Ma'am," he nodded.

"Hello, Fitz."

"I ain't gonna say nothing, don't panic."

Merle stood next to her and she wrapped her arm around his waist, she wanted Fitz to know she was happy there. The happier she looked the less likely he was to tell anyone she was there she figured.

"You must have wanted to get outta town something fierce. I can't imagine going from a house as big as your daddy's or the Pederson's to a little cabin all the way up here."

She shrugged her shoulders and looked up at Merle.

"I had my reasons, trust me, and I'm infinitely happy here with Merle."

"Ain't that nice?" Fitz grinned. "Well, you two are the cutest little odd couple going so I'll leave ya to it until next time."

"Thank, Fitz," Merle said, reaching out to shake his hand. "I appreciate your discretion.

"I just want the wine," he laughed. "I piss you off and I get no wine. I'm a simple man, Merle."

Merle laughed at that. Fitz was one of a kind, straightforward and honest.

Maisie wrapped her other arm around Merle's waist and smiled to Fitz.

"It's very nice to meet you, Fitz."

"And you Miss, take care of him for me. I'm a drinking man and I need the wine."

"I'll take very good care of him so he can work on the wine for you...and for me," she winked.

Fitz mounted his old horse and tipped his hat to them as he rode off.

"I'm lucky that man loves my wine and has a drinking problem," he chuckled.

Merle carried the bundle of supplies to the backyard to check out what Fitz had brought.

He pulled out a red dress for her and grinned when he imagined her wearing it.

"That dress is so pretty," she smiled.

Merle handed her all the things he'd gotten for her, wishing he could give her more.

"I can't help thinking it can't be too much fun up here for you, honey. You're up to your elbows in gardening and rabbit guts, that ain't no way for a young woman to live."

"I'm the happiest I've ever been, Merle, I assure you."

"So you don't want to move to a town or something?" he asked, sitting down on a milk crate.

"No, I like being here. Do you want to move away?"

"No."

She laughed and shook her head.

"Well, that's settled then."

"I'm really sorry. I forgot I told him I don't have siblings."

"It's OK, if you trust him then I trust him."

"You can trust me, I won't slip up again."

 **#############################**

Merle took the horse out that afternoon for exercise and to check snares but there was nothing in them.

That evening she roasted the other rabbit in a pot over the fire and they ate like kings with some bread Fitz brought and new potatoes.

"Jesus," Merle groaned. "I'll never walk again!"

"That's a shame, I was hoping you'd be up to some activity later."

"You're insatiable, woman," he chuckled.

"Are you really surprised?" she laughed, collecting the plates. "I just discovered something pretty amazing last night. Don't you remember the first time you discovered it?"

"It was a million years ago but I was probably a lot like you," he laughed. "I just gotta try and keep up to you now."

When everything was cleaned up for the evening she lay on the quilt and played with Ginger. The days were exhausting but very fulfilling. There was no turning on a tap or instant heat in the cabin but she loved it just the same. She had the loft, where Merle was in her arms every night so she needed nothing else.

"So, you lived in a big house?" Merle asked.

"Yes. I was never happy though."

"Maybe I could go and get job to buy you a house," he said.

"I don't need that, Merle. All I want is you," she smiled.

She was laying on her back and holding the squirming kitten up over her head when Merle decided he'd had enough of her being down there.

"I making you a chair."

"I'm OK," she insisted.

"Now you are but winter is cold in here and I won't have you on the ground when it's cold, at least let me do that."

"Thank you, dear. I'd love a chair," she relented.

He lit his pipe and poured them both some wine he'd made from wild roses.

"I didn't know you could make wine from roses."

"You can make it from dandelions too, and lilacs," he said, handing her a glass.

"You're so talented," she smiled, taking a sip. "This is nice, I like this one."

"I'll have to go looking for more wild roses then, I'll make you a bunch this season. I bet I can find tons of wild roses in the meadow."

"You're too good to me. Where's the meadow?"

"I'll take you someday, it's a bit of a walk from here."

She didn't mind working hard but enjoying books and a glass of Merle's wine was a beautiful reward for her labor every evening. Maisie settled down with her wine and her book to read through some more poems. The book was making her mind work in overdrive. The words weren't direct in any way but there were ideas being planted like trees in her mind constantly and they were growing. She wondered sometimes if what she was reading into them was accurate or not, she had almost no sexual experience to relate it to.

It would have been easy to feel insecure with Merle if he hadn't treated her with such respect. Besides wanting to take things slower and checking in with her he wasn't treating her like a child and she loved that.

"Can you read me one?" she asked.

"Why do you like me to read them?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Your voice makes me crazy and I like hearing you read romantic, naughty things."

"I see," he chuckled. "If it's such a virtuous reason then how can I refuse?"

She handed him the book, already on the page she wanted.

"You want this one?" he asked.

"Yes, why not?"

"Did you read it?"

"Some of it, did you want to read something else?"

"No, this one will do," he grinned.

 **And when you're wrapped in arms that leave no doubt,**

 **and find willing lips that seek to seal love, you'll not wonder.**

 **And when each word is sincere,**

 **and you're emptiness is assuaged by the strength of his conviction, you'll not fear.**

 **And when in the evening,**

 **the horizon pulls the sun beneath the blanket of darkness, your night begins.**

 **And when it does, trust that heat still remains, and a new warmth made by two.**

 **His arms, the rise and fall of his chest, his hair, his smile, and his invitation to sin.**

 **There is something more intimate than the rhythmic clashing and pitched tone of release, something more personal, something deeply pleasurable.** **  
** **Together, travel south, and where your legs begin, let him show you something more.**

 **Words silently written fueled by the warmth of his breathing.**

 **Arched back in unexpected amazement.**

 **Know that there is more.** **  
** **And when you're wrapped in his arms,**

 **you'll now have a new dream as you taste the subtle memory of passion**

 **on the last kiss of the night.**

She looked a little confused and crawled over to take the book from his hands.

"Don't like that one, honey?"

She sighed and read over the words like it was a foreign language and she was trying to place certain words.

"It's not that, I think it sounds good but not everything in this book makes sense to me, I guess that's hardly surprising."

"How do you mean?"

"I know what all the words mean just the way they're put together. Some of it is obviously metaphorical but I don't understand what they're eluding to."

"What part don't you get?"

"This part about traveling south and where your legs begin and saying there's something more intimate but they never say what it is. Does everyone else know what this is referring to but me?"

"I don't think everyone would, some people don't even do what this poem is referring to."

"So what is it?"

Merle took a long sip of wine and just looked at her as if trying to think of how to word it.

"It's just a sexual thing. Something a man does to a woman but not everyone does it...I mean, I used to but not everyone does and..." he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders.

"Merle, tell me."

He sighed and she watched as his neck slowly turned red.

"You know when you were touching yourself and it felt good?"

She nodded up at him, awaiting more information.

"Well, sometimes a man will do that for a woman but... with his mouth. That's what it's talking about."

In 24 years this was the first she'd heard of it and, while it sounded too naughty to be real, just hearing him saying it turned her on. She tried to imagine it happening and felt instantly too shy to ever do it herself but still she couldn't deny that is sounded good.

"And you've done this?" she asked.

"Yep, a lot actually. I really like it but, like I said, not everyone does it and not all women want to. That's the thing about sex, you should only do things you feel comfortable with," he said, relighting his pipe after it had gone out from sitting on the table.

She lay back on the quilt and read some more of the book as Ginger scampered around being a nuisance. Maisie played with the idea in her mind for a while and imagined it every single time she closed her eyes. It sounded so forbidden and more intimate than even sex to her but still so erotic that it wouldn't leave her mind.

She turned and looked back at him.

"Do you want that?" she asked.

"I only want to do things you want. I can take or leave anything. Hell, I'm just happy you're here and wanna be with me. We won't do anything you don't like."

She nodded and it was exactly the answer she had expected from him.

She kept thinking if he'd done it a lot then his wife must have enjoyed it. She wasn't sure about bringing her up but eventually her curiosity won out and she had to know.

"Your wife must have liked it."

He didn't answer right away so she jumped in to apologize.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have spoken about her. It's none of my business."

"It's alright, Maisie. That part of my life is over now and it bothers me less all the time. I don't miss her, I just miss my children."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Me too. In answer to your question though she asked for it a lot so I figure she did like it. Although looking back on it now I feel like I didn't know her at all," he laughed.

"I can't understand how she could have done that."

"Me neither."

"So she wasn't shy then?"

"At first she was, I was too. Eventually I figured out that she liked the way I look and she knew I liked the way she looked and it got easier, it just takes time."

She nodded and went back to her wine and her book wishing she wasn't shy because it sounded better and better the more she thought about it.

Soon he was stretching and asking her if she was ready to sleep. She felt good knowing he wasn't about to push her but also that he was so willing to please her as well. Maisie got it in her head though that perhaps it was her turn to do some touching and decided do just that as soon as she got him back on the bearskin.

"I love the way you look, Merle. You're the most attractive man I ever met and the kindest."

Merle just look up at her and it was like an arrow through the heart in a strange way. It felt so good and yet so painful cause he hadn't believed he was attractive anymore. He had gotten so comfortable with Mary and then so suddenly he was nothing to her. Maisie's words were hard to take but he loved it just the same, he loved meaning so much to her and he hoped he always would.

 **###########################**

 **So basically Maisie and Merle have both been hurt and he needs some healing too:( I assure you they will both get what they need over the next few chapters. The next chapter is NSFW;) Thanks for reading and for all the kind reviews.**

 **Love you Teagan xoxoxoxox**

 **This poem was written by my friend Drew from Twitter. He read some of this story and I mentioned that I needed very specific poems to introduce ideas to Merle and Maisie and he just offered to write them because he liked the story. I'm very grateful to him for helping me out because I couldn't find what I needed anywhere online. I told him I'd pass along any comments on the poem because he was unsure about them but I think they are beautiful. There's another piece of his writing later on as well. Also Krissy is contributing some poetry to this story so I have been super blessed in this effort!**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

Up in the loft Maisie watched as he peeled his shirt from his shoulders. Merle took off his pants next and kept looking at her to be sure he wasn't making her uncomfortable.

The lantern burning on the main level, provided just enough light to get around safely. His broad chest and arms did something to her that was very powerful and she eyed him hungrily, wondering when and how to make her move.

She settled on sleeping in her slip and was excited to be wearing fresh underwear thanks to Fitz, even if they were a size or two too large. Ending up in Merle's shed with nothing but the clothes on her back hadn't been seamless but it was working out now.

Maisie lay back on the pillow and pulled him down to her. She found herself needing to touch him, she didn't want what they had to be one sided.

Merle lay down at her side and faced her. He threaded his fingers into her hair as he came closer and slid his tongue passed her teeth and moved it against hers. It was a little more aggressive than usual and she liked that, she didn't want to be treated like a delicate flower all the time and she knew he meant her no harm. She loved all the little nuanced things he did, like every touch was intentional and had specific purpose.

After a few minutes of just kissing she moved her hand down to his hip and left it there for a moment, wondering how he'd like to be touched.

She slid her hand into the back of his boxers first and took his ass in her hand. He let out a stifled growl and she grinned as her mouth made contact with his throat. Maisie had nothing to go on but instinct and her own desire but it didn't seem to be steering her wrong.

Her hand continued to squeeze and then release his flesh as she pulled him in tighter against her body.

They lay on their sides, facing each other and Maisie had the urge to wrap her leg around his hip and when she did it felt more right than anything else. The kissing never stopped although it began to move to other places and then back to their mouths. She needed to get close enough to feel him against her, that much she knew, so she rolled her hips forward and he groaned as their bodies made contact.

She loved that something she was doing was getting to him. He still had his boxers on and she was in her underwear and slip but the evil friction of just the contact made her senses light up. She held on to his ass and moved her body closer again as he bit softly at the pale skin of her neck.

Something overtook her and in that moment it's as if her body knew what to do. She didn't need to think at all she just followed each sweet sensation where it led her. Anything that increased the good feelings in her core and all throughout her body was obeyed.

Finally she became brave enough to touch the hardness pressing against her wet panties.

He hissed and grabbed her wrist as she pushed her hand into his boxers.

"Honey-"

"Merle, shhhhh..."

"You don't have to, I can take care of it myself."

"I want to," she insisted, wrapping her fingers around his dick.

"Wait-"

"That's not fair, Merle. If you don't let me then it's not fair."

She pulled her hand back and sighed heavily.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking at her skeptically.

"If you can make me feel good but you won't let me even try to do it back...that's not fair."

"I just don't think you should have to, I don't expect it of you."

Maisie lowered her eyes and decided to just say exactly what she was thinking, all she had was the truth.

"It probably won't be good...I know that. I don't really know what I'm doing but I love you and I want to try to make you feel how you make me feel...please."

She waited for a response and hoped he understood what she was trying to say.

"I just wanted this to be for you, honey."

"But if I don't take part it feels like something being done _to_ me instead of something we're doing together...does that make sense?"

"Yes."

Merle understood her, she was great at articulating herself. He leaned in and kissed her softly and took her hand, placing it back where it had been.

She lay her hand on his dick, it was almost hot to the touch and hard as stone. She closed her finger around it and he moved his face into the crook of her neck. He covered her hand with his own to show her what he liked and she moved her hand under his guidance.

"Just kinda slow at first," he whispered into her ear and she kept it going.

She loved the feel of it and the way his breathing changed indicated that it was having the desired effect. She continued the motion of her hand with her leg still resting over his upper thigh and she could feel her own need rising. She imagined him inside her then and soon her own breathing changed.

He took his hand away from hers then and slid it down the back of her thigh to her ass and grabbed a hold as she worked him over. With her leg still laying over him his hand was so close to where she really wanted to be touched.

She felt the tips of his fingers drift lightly over the crotch of her panties and instantly she was right there with him. She whined softly under her breath, trying to suppress the sound of her enjoyment.

Merle moved his thigh forward between her legs and it wasn't even a conscious thought in her head, she just moved herself against it.

"You don't have to be quiet, honey," he insisted.

He began to move almost imperceptibly with the motion of her hand and was starting to moan intermittently.

"Just a little faster..." he urged.

She increased the pace and started to kiss his chest and then licked a trail from one nipple to the other. All she could think of to do were things she thought she would like, it was just guess work and paying attention to how he responded.

His fingers kept up the agonizing contact with her body through the material and there an obvious trance going on between them, both singlemindedly chasing the same primal implosion. The contact wouldn't be broken till they both fell apart. Merle pulled his hand back from behind her leg for a second to work her slip down enough to get to her breasts. He buried his face between them and then kissed his way from one nipple to the other, teasing her into a corner where she wanted to scream for more.

She tried out slightly different rhythms and pressures and would focus on different areas trying to gauge what he liked best but he seemed to like it all.

"Can I touch you?" he panted. "You can just say no...it's OK."

"I want you to," she moaned.

Merle took her under her knee and pulled it up higher around his hip before sliding his hand down the back of her thigh again to touch her.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any more intense his fingers shifted her underwear to the side and she froze as she felt them slide gently over her wet lips.

"Jesus Christ almighty!" she whined into the darkness.

"You OK?" he asked.

"Yes...don't stop..."

They both pressed on, determine to push the other over the lip of the event horizon first. She knew she was close. Now she easily recognized the throbbing and adrenaline of it creeping up, ready to pounce and devour her.

His body was becoming stiff and she could sense the intensity in him reaching a breaking point as well. She could feel something warm and wet on her hand, apparently men got a little wet too.

He was panting and moving his hips toward her just a little in a sleepy rhythm that really got her mind going.

"This was supposed to be slower," he groaned in a defeated tone.

"I'm good...it's good..." she uttered.

He knew just what he was doing and she loved the almost painful need he created in her. His middle finger teased her entrance and she groaned loudly into his chest. She was right there and so was he.

"I gotta cum, honey, you're gonna wanna move," he gasped.

"It's OK...just do it," she insisted, moving her grasp down to focus on the end of his dick. She wasn't sure what compelled her to do it but it appeared to be just the ticket. She became excited that he would feel what she had and that it was her getting him there.

His hips thrust forward and she felt his thigh rub against the bundle of nerves hidden behind the silk of her panties.

It was right then that she felt it wash over her like waves breaking the shore and she let out a wanton moan against his chest. Without intending to she squeezed his dick a little harder and he tensed up and proceeded to let go all over her slip.

Maisie was covered in a fine layer of sweat and gasping desperately into the dark.

He couldn't catch his breath for a moment and just stayed clinging to her, unmoving.

Maisie could feel her core still pulsating with need as she floated slowing back to reality and her heart rate descended from the dizzy heights of bliss.

"Sorry about that," he whispered, pulling back from her.

"Don't say sorry, it'll wash. It was good, right?" she asked.

"You gotta be joking, that was amazing!" he chuckled, reaching for a hand towel near the ladder.

She smiled, she couldn't stop smiling. Maisie felt an odd sense of pride in satisfying him, she didn't think she'd be able to do it. Addiction to the feeling she could now attain was beginning to permeate every cell in her body and she wanted it only with him. Love, respect, mutual attraction and sexual compatibility...they had the world and all it's charms...


	14. Chapter 14

_**This chapter contains a beautiful, sexy, hinting poem from the very talented Krissyg927 on A03 (AKA Krissyg49 on FF . net) She really came through for me and wrote just what I needed to plant naughty ideas in Maisie's head and I'm eternally grateful to her for helping me out. The poem relates this act from the female perspective and puts the woman in the position of power but still in a very loving way, it's exactly what I needed for this chapter!**_

 _ **Thank you my FF BFF, wifey, bestie, soulmate, TWIN, coffee crisp enthusiast best friend ever!br /  
Love you, Teagan XOXOXOXO**_

 _ **#############################################################################**_

 _ **Chapter 14**_

Each day was sweeter than the last for Merle and he was starting to be convinced it was really meant to be. God had brought her to him and he decided to let himself have faith in it even though he was scared to let himself believe.

He woke up the morning, after she had touched him and driven him out of his mind, feeling ready to face life with an open heart.

They were just beginning their work for the day when she seemed to slow down and sat on the front step to rest.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just need the...provisions you asked for."

"In the cupboard, inside. Take some Aspirin if you need it and just lay down with Ginger."

"I should help," she protested.

"Maybe later when you feel better, I got this."

"You're an angel, thanks for understanding."

"I don't know too much about that 'cept it hurts," he laughed.

Merle was used to working alone and she had barely sat since she got there, she was always on the go and offering to help more. He figured she had more than earned a day in bed.

She seemed to be happy to rest and took Ginger inside the cabin to take it easy.

Merle worked for the rest of the morning and brought her some lunch up in the loft in the early afternoon.

"Did Fitz bring what you needed?" he asked.

"Yes, it's fine. I still can't believe you thought of it, I didn't even think of it," she grinned.

"Living up here gets me thinking of supplies all the time, it seems there's always something I need but don't have."

"I've been thinking actually," she began. "Do we really need a horse? Maybe you could sell it for supplies.

"Would you really want to? It's your horse, honey."

"I care much more about us than keeping a horse we don't need and that mare deserves more room to run."

"I can't argue with that."

"The thing is it's my parent's horse and I kinda...stole it, so you can't sell it in Sweetwater."

"I see," he grinned. "I can take it to Crosby but it's a day and half walk back from there if I sell. I don't mind doing it though, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," she insisted.

"Will you be OK without me for a couple days?"

"I'll miss you but I'll be OK."

He decided to leave in the morning when he'd had a chance to get things ready for her. He wanted her to have enough wood chopped for the fire. He also checked the snares and left her with a couple snowshoe rabbits for food. There was always eggs and since Fitz had just been by she had food to spare.

"Connie will keep an ear out for you and bark if anything is around. Can you fire a rifle?" he asked. He was feeling a little paranoid leaving her but she was right about them not needing the horse.

"Show me how and I'll remember."

He took her out in the evening to get her familiar with his .22 and she was a quick study.

"You sure you'll be OK?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"They already looked for you out this way so I can't see them coming back."

"Exactly, I'll be fine."

Merle gave her more of the rose wine to ease the angry cramps she had that evening and held her all night long.

He left bright and early and rode fast to get to town as quickly as possible. He didn't like leaving her alone but the supplies he could get for them would be great with the money from the horse.

 **##########################**

She missed him the second he was out of sight. He was her man now and she hated to be without him, even for a moment. Connie sat next to her, watching the trees as he left. The dog cried on and off for the next hour.

"Come on, you, he'll be back...I miss him too."

She sat in his chair, wondering how she'd stay busy till he returned.

He had gotten everything done and prepared for her and she couldn't think of a single thing to do. She had another look through his books and came upon a photograph of a baby and a toddler tucked between the pages of one. The toddler was a boy but it couldn't be discerned what sex the baby was. She knew they must be his children and she ached for him. It was a crime, in her mind, to keep a man from his children if he was a good man. She put the picture back where she found it and spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly.

In the evening she read more of poetry they'd been reading together.

She came across a poem that caught her interest and introduced a concept she'd never considered before. Connie sat at her feet and she read until very late at night. The words fed her imagination.

 **How do you begin to own a man?**

 **Is it from the first longing glance?**

 **It starts there, perhaps.**

 **The touch of a hand on his,**

 **so soft and gentle,**

 **so unknown to him.**

 **The first time your eyes and breath meet,**

 **it begins.**

 **The feel of your lips on his skin,**

 **hot with desire, will bring him to his knees.**

 **The fire of your mouth,**

 **where none has gone before you,**

 **will enslave the strongest of men.**

 **Make him weak only for your precious kiss**

 **that only you will give him.**

 **The woman who lets her mouth wander, learns how to own a man.**

She read it over and over and it occurred to her gradually what it was implying. Merle had mentioned this kind of thing being done to a woman and it never even dawned on her that a woman could do something similar to a man. Maisie tried to imagine how something like that would work but it just seemed so ultimately forbidden to her.

This was the kind of thing that would surely send you to straight to the lake of fire but she had a strong feeling he'd like it. The idea of using her mouth on him was enough to make her squirm with need but she was still in a certain amount of agony with her cramps.

Maisie put on his work shirt for bed, she needed the smell of his skin to help her mind rest. It was scary sleeping in the woods all alone but she knew Connie would protect her and she did have the rifle. She settled down in the loft and could so easily picture him next to her, she wished he was.

In her mind, he was already her husband. Maisie loved him more than anyone she'd ever known.

Her parents, with their judgment and puritanical ways, had always made her feel miserable and guilty and she'd never had siblings. Merle so quickly became her whole world but it felt amazing. She covered herself in his blanket and curled up, letting herself imagine tasting him. It seemed less wrong the more she thought of it and she could almost hear him moaning already, Maisie loved the sound of his pleasure.

He was her man and she wanted to be the one to give him everything he wanted and needed. Sexuality was no longer quite so scary, it was something beautiful that she only ever wanted to share with Merle.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

Merle made it to Crosby by late afternoon but didn't want to stay in town in a hotel, he always felt more comfortable in the woods anyway. He made a fire outside town in a clearing and sat next to it all evening, thinking of Maisie.

In the morning he'd be able to find someone to buy the horse but it was a smaller town and everything was closed for the day already.

The evening was warm and he planned to just lean against a tree to sleep. Along the way he'd found a creek for the horse to drink and he fed it some apples.

He lit his pipe for the evening and watched the stars come out. He wondered what his children were doing and if they even knew he existed. He'd never understand how it had all turned out with his family. His wife had seemed happy to him at the time but now that he was with Maisie he was starting to see he may have been wrong. Mary never kissed him like Maisie did, she didn't look at him with love in her eyes like he thought she had. It would appear, but only on the surface, that he was teaching Maisie about love but it was only physically that he was showing her anything. She was teaching him what love was really supposed to feel like.

Until Maisie came he fully expected to be alone for the rest of his life. He pulled a small box from his old army back pack where he kept the ring that had once symbolized his marriage. He was hoping he could find a place in town to pawn it in exchange for a ring for Maisie. She was still married legally and he had no idea how they could change that since she refused to go back but he wanted to show her how he felt. She may never want to get married again or maybe not to him but he just wanted to her to have token of his affection.

She was everything to him and he had to let her know that. Back in the cabin, and in the woods surrounding it, they had their own world where they could be man and wife if that's how they saw it.

His mind said 'don't you even dare to try and tie her down' but his heart said 'hold on with all you've got'.

He sighed, put out his pipe and stared up into the sky until he drifted off into dreamless sleep.

 **###########################**

Morning was hot and muggy and there was rain in the air. The mare began stir and he stood up slow, his back aching from the bark of the tree.

"Come on then, let's find you a new home," he groaned, leading the horse into town.

Crosby was small but did have a pawn shop and a department store. He went into the pawn shop after eating breakfast at the diner to see about the ring and was given a fair amount for it. He asked the man behind the counter where he could sell the horse and was told to travel a couple miles north of town to a farm where they'd probably buy it.

When he arrived the farmer was seeding in the field and after some small talk he agreed to take the horse off his hands. Merle was having great luck for a change and the farmer even offered him a ride back into town in his truck since the rain had begun to fall.

"Where can I buy a ring in town?" he asked the farmer as they approached town.

"The department store has a little jewelry counter."

"Great. Thanks for the lift."

"No problem. I suppose you're getting hitched then?"

Merle smiled and nodded back.

"I hope so."

"Good luck to you!"

"Thanks."

He wasn't really getting married but it felt just as good. He didn't expect any promises from her, he'd promise to love her forever but she didn't have to tell him anything.

Merle was feeling excited to be talking to people again, he didn't think he was missing it but it was nice.

He took the money he'd gotten for his ring straight up the woman behind the jewelry counter.

"I need a ring for my girl," he began, feeling awkward. Speaking to women was new again after almost two years.

"An engagement ring, Sir?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

She showed him a few and he ended up settling on a pretty ring with a silver band and a single diamond in the center. He was happy to trade his ring for it and he hoped she'd be happy to wear it, no matter what it meant.

He stocked up on some medication, canned food, and other necessities, his bag would only carry so much but he could also pay Fitz for things now. He had a good amount of money left and decided to stop by the used bookstore on the way home to see if they had anything Maisie might like.

He took the owner aside and asked if they had anything a little spicy for his misses. The man winked and pulled a box out from under the counter.

"My wife likes 'em too but I can't put these out or the prissy folks in town would have my hide," he laughed.

Merle looked through the box and chose a couple that looked 'educational'.

He was loaded down with supplies and had a pocket full of money that he wanted to take back to Maisie. The trip would be long and arduous but he was eager to see her again. He began the trip and knew he wouldn't get back until the next morning but refused to stop for any longer than necessary.

 **##########################**

Maisie sat around the cabin for most of the day and then took Connie for a long walk to stave of thinking about Merle. The woods were beautiful and alive.

She came across bluebirds and a doe in a clearing, she loved feeling connected to the world around her.

She remembered back in Sweetwater all anyone ever spoke of was war, death and misery. She understood it, war was no joke and everyone was losing loved ones. She felt as much sadness and compassion for those affected as anyone but there was so little she could do to help.

With Merle, on the mountain, there was nothing but love, joy, hope and possibilities.

She made it back in time to eat a simple supper and drink another glass of Merle's rose wine. She'd never tasted anything better than rose wine.

She reread the poem from earlier and thought more about using her mouth to please him. Maisie wanted to show him how much she loved him and adored his body.

The books made her so aroused she forgot all about her cramps and the wine eased her mind and her heart. She couldn't wait to see his face but had no idea when he would be back the next day.

Maisie finally went to bed after reading all evening, making her mind wander to more and more interesting places.

She'd only been in bed for what she guessed was an hour when she heard Connie snarling outside. She remembered Merle's words about Connie not losing her mind over nothing and prayed he was wrong this time. She pulled the blanket up to her neck and waited a moment...hoping it would stop.

She heard a blood-curdling sound like hysterical laughter or yelping and nearly wet herself.

"Dear God...oh God...what is that?" she whispered to herself.

Connie began to bark and she could hear a ruckus around the back of the cabin, it sounded close.

"Jesus!"

She crawled out of the loft with her legs shaking violently as she climbed down the ladder.

Merle's .22 sat on the counter and she hesitated to grab it but felt she had no choice, she had no idea what was outside.

The barking got out of control and more angry and the sound of yipping and howling made her cringe as she reached for the door.

"Oh God...please don't let me die...damn it!"

She crept around the cabin to the now deafening scuffle and saw a pack of coyotes surrounding Connie in an attempt to get at the chicken coop.

Clucking, barking, yipping and snarling was all she could hear.

She raised the rifle up at the treetops and fired once, scaring herself silly. She stood, in only Merle's work shirt, shaking like a leaf.

The coyotes were gone in an instant and Connie continued to growl for another few minutes.

"Connie girl, it's OK now..." she uttered.

Her heart continued to beat loudly in her ears along with ringing from the rifle and she kept her eyes on the trees to be sure she couldn't see their eyes glowing in the dark.

She finally let the air out of her lungs and looked around her before running back into the cabin.

She realized two things in that moment, she wanted Merle back but also that she had taken care of it.

Maisie couldn't remember ever being so scared but she handled it, she felt proud.

Connie stayed out back in case they returned but Maisie fed her the other rabbit Merle had left as a reward for doing her job so well.

"Good girl...thank you."

She crawled up the ladder with the smell of gunfire still in her nose and had a horrible time trying to fall asleep again. All she could think of were the sounds in the woods and that Merle wasn't with her.

 **###########################**

It was 9am when Merle came upon his home, he only stopped long enough to rest for a couple hours, he was eager to get back to her.

She was still up in the loft with Ginger when he arrived but Connie insisted on hoarding all of his attention for a minute first. The dog seemed even more excited to see him than usual.

He sat at the kitchen table and groaned at his stiff and achy body. He took the ring from his pocket and just looked at it. It crossed his mind that it might scare her off but he didn't know what else to do with all the love he felt. He didn't want to pressure her or make her feel obligated to him so quickly. Maybe she'd still change her mind and want more than an isolated life on the mountainside. He looked down at Connie and smiled.

"Should I do it or not?" he asked but the dog just lay down at his feet.

"You're no help, girl," he chuckled softly to himself. If he was going ask at all he had to try and make it special, maybe he could make the evening nice enough that she'd want to stay with him forever.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

Maisie woke up in his arms and thought she was dreaming.

"Merle?" she croaked.

"Good morning, lazy bones."

"Thank God you're home!" she sighed, rolling over toward his chest.

"You OK?"

"I am now but last night was terrifying. There were coyotes outside and Connie went mad and-"

"I'm so sorry, Maisie! I shouldn't have left you."

"I'm alright. I fired your rifle and they took off but it was definitely scary and it was my idea for you to go, remember?"

"Still, I forgot to mention that they could show up at night. That hasn't happened since the first year I was out here."

"I missed you," she grinned and pulled him in tighter to her. "I take it you sold the horse?"

"Yes, and I got a bunch of things we need but there's still a lot left over. Here," he said, pulling the wad of cash from his pocket and handing it over to her.

"Oh my goodness, you must have gotten a lot for her!"

"Not bad, I found a farmer who was eager to buy."

He kissed her neck and she giggled, pulling him on top of her.

"I guess I better get up," she grinned.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yes, I should be completely back to normal in a day or so."

"Good, I don't want you in pain, honey."

Even her own mother never cared this much when she was sick or in discomfort. Merle was like nobody she'd ever met, he showed his love instead of only saying it. Maisie wanted to show him her love as well, she wanted to be good to him and make him feel as special as he was.

She thought over and over about the poem and using her mouth on the forbidden parts of his body. The idea only appealed to her because it was him, she longed to make him moan. That night she would take things to the next level and she hoped he'd like it.

 **########################**

When they got up there was more gardening and wine making to do, there was always work. Merle got more and more anxious of his gift and what she might feel about it but every time she looked at his face she had that same look of love.

He decided he'd make her chicken for supper and serve it with a white wine, he wanted everything to be perfect.

"I just need to go for a short walk before we eat, OK?"

"Should I come?" she asked.

"No, honey. I won't be long. You just take it easy."

Merle took a walk to where he knew he could find some wildflowers for her. Prettying up the place just seemed like the right approach. He thought back to when he'd proposed to Mary, it felt like a lifetime ago and it didn't feel like this.

When he got back he put the flowers in a series of wine bottles since he had no vase and she smiled at all the different colors around the room.

"You just went out for flowers?" she asked.

"I want it to look nice in here tonight."

"They're beautiful."

Merle washed up in the backyard before supper and he insisted she sit on the chair for once.

"I'm making you a chair tomorrow. I bought some screws and sandpaper, I have everything else I need."

"Pretty talented man I have," she grinned.

"All yours, honey."

When evening finally came, Merle lit a series of candles and turned the lantern down low it just seemed romantic to him. He served her supper and poured her a glass of the white wine.

"This is a really nice one, what is it?"

"It's the crab apple wine," he answered.

Merle finished up his food and then remembered the books he'd found for her.

"I got you some more books in town. They're second hand but that's all they had."

"I don't mind at all. Every book I lost was second hand. A book is a book."

She went through the stack and found they were all romantic novels or love poetry and she grinned from ear to ear, he knew her already.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

She read through some of the poems as she finished her wine.

"It's like some of the people writing these poems could feel exactly what I do right now."

"Yeah?"

She began to read and very quickly he understood.

" **I am yours, as the summer air at evening is  
possessed by the scent of linden blossoms.**

 **As the snowcap gleams with light**  
 **lent it by the brimming moon.**

 **Without you I'd be an unleafed tree**  
 **blasted in a bleakness with no spring.**

 **Your love is the weather of my being.**  
 **For what is an island without the sea?"**

"That's how you feel?" he asked, unable to take his eyes off her face.

"Yes."

Merle's heart melted and he figured it was the perfect time to ask but she had other plans.

"Come sit down," she said softly, offering the chair to him.

He frowned, curious what it could mean but walked over to sit down as she asked.

Maisie lay her hands down on his upper thighs and leaned in to kiss his lips softly and slowly.

"That's nice, sweetheart," he sighed when her kiss moved down to his neck.

Her fingers began undoing the buttons of his shirt and he smiled, wondering what she was up to. Her lips made the journey from his neck to his chest and her warm tongue drifted over his left nipple.

"Honey, aren't you still having that...female...your uh..." he stuttered.

"Shhh...this is just for you," she answered and he had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly he felt like the inexperienced one. Maisie lay her hands on his shoulders and slid his suspenders down his arms.

"Maisie?"

"Shhhh..."

She knelt down between his legs and looked up into his eyes as her hands went to the button of his pants.

"What are you doing, honey?"

"I want to make you feel good."

"But-"

"I want to use my mouth to make you feel good," she winked.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"What's the matter?"

"That's...you don't have to do that!"

"But...you said you like it."

"Oh I'm pretty sure I'd like it but I honestly wouldn't know."

"I thought you said you'd done this before," she asked, feeling confused by his reaction.

"I did it for her, she never did it for me."

"Oh."

She lay her hands on his knees and he didn't know what to say. He had thought about it before and always liked the idea but he couldn't imagine letting Maisie do it for him, it seemed wrong.

"I won't if you don't want me to...I just thought you might enjoy it," she said, laying her cheek down on his left knee slowly.

Her eyes were devilish and a grin spread across her lips that made his mind go fuzzy.

She looked so beautiful and so sure of what she was saying that he let himself go along with it.

"If you don't like it you can just stop."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead to his stomach. He found himself incredibly nervous and self conscious. He hadn't experienced anything new in a long, long time.

She continued with his pants and kissed his lower abdomen softly and he knew he was done for.

She kept looking up at him with her sea green eyes, driving him mad with desire. He lay his hand on her cheek, still feeling like he should stop her but completely unable to.

She unzipped his pants and started to pulled them down.

"Up," she whispered.

Merle didn't know which way was up anymore but she had all the control in all the world. He leaned forward and pushed his pants down enough to allow her the contact she wanted.

"Honey, you really don't have-"

"Shhhh..."

She even put her finger to her lips as she said it and he was rendered powerless.

She took his dick in the cool of her soft little hand and he breathed out slow and long.

He was painfully hard already and being pulled into the unknown. He assumed it would feel amazing but never had the guts to ask Mary for it. He never thought a woman would want to and it wasn't within him to ask a woman to do anything she wouldn't like.

Maisie moved her hand slowly up and down his length as he watched, his hands gripping the sides of the chair tight. Her mouth moved further down his stomach as she kept up the movement of her hand and he'd never seen anything like it in his wildest dreams.

He refused to take his eyes from her until he couldn't bear it anymore and then she did it. Her tongue came out of her mouth and licked at his skin from the base right to the end.

Merle thought he might go completely insane just from the sight of it.

"Good God above," he moaned.

It was repeated over and over and her tongue was so soft and wet and smooth that it was ecstasy in the flesh.

Her hand was still holding him as well and just as he was thinking it couldn't get better she lowered her mouth over his dick and he flinched at the beautiful sensation.

"You OK?" she stopped to ask.

"I've never been this OK...I never will be again."

She smiled, a sweet and innocent looking smile, and he felt he could die a very happy man right there.

She closed her mouth around him again half way at least as her hand held the rest. He groaned and then held his breath, trying to keep it together but it was so good he couldn't handle it for long. Her lips covered her teeth and she moved her mouth up and down his hard dick for only a minute or so before he had to warn her to move. Merle had never felt such a thing and it was powerful to say the least.

She sat back on her knees and watched as he jerked his dick just a few times and then came with a deep growl.

He stayed bent over and breathing heavy, trying to steady his heart for a long while.

When he looked up at her face she was still smiling.

"That was incredible," he uttered, shaking his head.

"I'm glad," she answered. "I want to make you feel good."

"You make me feel like nothing else, honey."

He grabbed a towel and cleaned himself up and changed his trousers. When he came to sit back on the chair she sank down on his lap sideways and lay her head on his shoulder. Merle wrapped his arms around her and held her close, wondering how to follow up what just happened with a proposal.

Maybe it couldn't be a real proposal since she couldn't legally be his but he wanted her to know that he'd do it in a heartbeat if he could.

"Maisie, I have something I want to ask you."

She was relaxed against him and he waited for her answer.

"Anything," she answered, sounding sleepy but satisfied.

"The thing is...I came out here two years ago to be all alone. I found when I lost my family that I couldn't stop looking back and I was too scared to look forward. Being alone here was perfect cause I didn't have anyone around to remind me that I didn't matter to anyone anymore. Ever since you turned up in my life though...I've started looking forward. I didn't think I'd ever do that again."

She stayed silent on his lap and didn't look up at him so he felt compelled to ramble until she did.

"I know that I'm older than you and I was married and you still are and I only have this cabin and nothing else to give you. I love you though, Maisie. I never loved anyone like this. I know you can't really marry me and it's OK if you don't want to but I got you this anyway...just a second."

He squirmed to get his hand into his pocket underneath her and handed her the little black box.

"I pawned my wedding band in town to get you this, I didn't buy it with your money."

Maisie didn't open the box, she just looked at him and she was tearing up.

"Oh, honey! I'm sorry...what did I say?" he began.

"Yes!" she sobbed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Merle's heart exploded in 500 directions and he clung to her for dear life.

When she finally let go she opened the box and put the ring on with a grin.

"It's so beautiful , Merle."

"This doesn't mean that I think you owe me anything at all, it just means that I love you."

"I love you, Merle, so much."

 _ ***Yours – poem by ~ Daniel Hoffman**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

The next morning Maisie lay in bed looking up at the ring on her finger, completely blown away at her life. Merle was still fast asleep next to her and she watched him with a little smile, wondering if they'd ever get married for real or have children.

It seemed like a million years ago that Rodger had been a problem to her or that she needed to concern herself with her parents opinions. Her life was hers and she knew just what she wanted to do with it.

"Merle...Merle..." she whispered, snuggling her face into his neck.

"Mmmmm..." he moaned, rolling over to look at her.

"Merle, I want to make love. When I can, in a couple days, I want to."

He opened his eyes wider and then couldn't fight a grin spreading across his face.

"You feel ready then?" he asked.

"Definitely."

"You know I'd never hurt you in a million years, right?"

"I know," she smiled, "that's why you're the man I want."

She settled into his arms and they spent the morning relaxing for a change instead of working.

 **#########################**

The next two days were great, they had everything they needed and each other. She had her own chair at the table now and she couldn't get over his talent at wood working, there seemed to be nothing he couldn't do.

Maisie had claimed the garden as her own personal project and wouldn't even let Merle near it.

"You're needed in the shed, making me rose wine," she winked.

"Yes, m'lady. I was thinking we could take a walk to the meadow tomorrow. It's a long walk but it's a pretty little clearing. There's lots of wildflowers that are good for wine."

"How far?"

"An hour or so, me and Connie found it the first year we were here."

"Sounds nice."

"So...are you still?" he asked, delicately.

"Nope," she smiled.

"So maybe tomorrow then? Jesus! Listen to me being all impatient. You let me know, how about that?" he laughed.

"Tomorrow will be perfect," she insisted.

"There's no hurry at all, love. I'm sorry."

 **##########################**

That evening Maisie watched Merle sitting at the table writing words and then scribbling them out, then writing more. He looked intent on it and she waited for him to explain what he was up to. He lit his pipe and stared at what he'd written, crumpled up the paper and started over. It went on for over half an hour till she couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up at her like he was being awoken from a trance, he'd been very fixated on something.

"Nothing, it's not turning out anyway."

"What is it?"

"I was trying to write you a poem."

"Oh my god! Can I see it?"

"It's not good enough...I'll keep working on it."

"I'm sure it's good enough, as long as you wrote it I'd love it."

"I have to make it better before you can see it."

"If you insist but I'm sure it's perfect the way it is."

He smiled and held his hand out for her, turning the paper over as she came to sit down on his lap.

Merle wrapped his arms around her and she lay her head on his shoulder.

"I'm keeping you forever," she sighed, swinging her feet hanging over the edge of his leg.

"Thank God," he grinned.

"Let me read your poem," she pleaded.

"No."

She giggled and slid off his lap to get one of the new books he'd brought for her.

Merle drank his wine and kept agonizing over the poem as she continued reading.

"Listen to this one," she began.

 _ **"a bee knows what he needs**_

 _ **fields of blooms lure it with promise of sweetness**_

 _ **it's the bee's life blood**_

 _ **all is lost if not satiated**_

 _ **always working, single-minded**_

 _ **the bee needs sweetness, as do men**_

 _ **the petals of a flower attract**_

 _ **hot sun and raindrops glistening upon them**_

 _ **brightly colored temptation**_

 _ **a bee is drawn to the**_

 _ **siren's sweet calling**_

 _ **are not men like bees in their compulsions?**_

 _ **seeking to attain the elixir of life**_

 _ **among all the petals of maidens**_

 _ **yet once drawn closer to partake**_

 _ **it becomes less his own need but hers**_

 _ **such as these bees and men pulled toward**_

 _ **all that's ravenously rewarded to the lovers of petals**_

 _ **and all that lay deep within**_

 _ **none is so sweet as my lover's nectar**_

 _ **none are so beautiful as the flower my lover possesses**_

 _ **forever compelling this humble bee**_

 _ **in need of sweetness"**_

"That sounds about right to me," he smiled.

"I think I know what this one is about," she said, raising her eyebrows and imagining his mouth and tongue between her legs.

"Yep, apparently I'm a bee," he laughed.

"Do you need it?" she asked, wanting to know how important it was to him.

"I don't need anything you don't want to give me freely. All I need is you, Maisie."

"I think it sounds good now...I don't feel as shy as I used to."

"I'm glad. I don't think you have anything to be shy about but I understand it now after what you did for me. I get it now."

"It's not easy showing parts of yourself to someone that you've always kept hidden," she shrugged, taking the last sip of wine from his glass.

"I assure you I'd love it but this is all up to you."

She smiled and said she was turning in for the night.

"It'll be a long walk tomorrow and I have plans for you," she winked.

"I'll be right along, I'm gonna try this again. I can't wait for you to see the meadow, it's really pretty."

"Goodnight, love," she smiled, leaning down to kiss him and peek at the paper on the table.

"Hey...not till it's done. Scoot!"

"Alright, alright but you're showing me later."

"It's not good, honey."

"Don't be silly, it'll be perfect."

She lay back in the loft and Ginger curled up next to her cheek. The little orange fluff ball was needy and purred furiously creating a calming vibration on the pillow.

Her last thoughts before falling asleep were of finally making love to Merle and of a wedding. She imagined him in a suit and her in a white dress and wondered if it could ever be.

#################################################

 _ **Petals – poem by ~ Me.**_

(I never wrote a poem before, just like Merle, so go easy on me;) lol

Next chapter, my lovelies, Merle and Maisie go alllll the way:)


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18** _

The morning crept in slowly and she turned over to find him laying on his belly, his bare back uncovered. She pulled the blanket down a little further to see his ass and she grinned, lost in the knowledge that he was hers.

She watched the rise and fall of his back as he breathed and an anxious but beautiful feeling rose up inside. The day had come that they'd finally make love and she was excited.

She didn't feel scared because he'd given her nothing to fear. A simple "I'm not ready" was all it would take. She knew he wouldn't be upset either, he'd be fine if she changed her mind.

When he awoke she pulled him into her arms and kissed him slow and soft.

"You still wanna go for that walk today?" he asked.

"Definitely. I'm just going to get washed up in the backyard first. Stay here unless you want to catch an eyeful," she teased as she slid her leg over his lap to get to the ladder.

Maisie grabbed the towel, some fresh underthings and the red dress Fitz had brought.

She pulled up two buckets of water from the well and smiled up at the sun with her eyes closed. She undressed slowly and completely until she stood, bare to the world, as Merle had when she first arrived.

She was free now, she loved his body and she loved hers as well. She bent down and filled the cup with water and poured it over her head and felt the cool trails of water flow down her skin like a baptism. She repeated this until her whole body was drenched and then covered her hair in shampoo.

Soon her body and long black hair were full of suds and she moved on to the rinsing. She turned to face the cabin, wondering if he was watching or if she was the only peeping Tom.

She pour cup after cup of water over her skin until she was thoroughly clean and grabbed the towel to dry herself.

She put on the red dress and was excited to see it fit well. It fell just below her knees and was a demonic shade of red.

When she made it back inside she asked if he was ready to go as she twisted her hair up into a bun to keep it off her neck.

"I'm just going to pack some food and wine and you need to eat something first, honey."

She was anxious to go but submitted to breakfast and soon they were on their way to the meadow with Connie walking ahead of them. Merle wore his old army back pack and held her hand as they strolled. Maisie carried a basket to collect flowers for making wine.

They arrived at the meadow after a long walk and it did not disappoint. Everywhere she looked there were flowers of every color under the sun and it was enclosed by tall trees and thick bush. The sun was blinding her through the treetops and she felt so free it was a lot to take in. They collected roses, dandelions and lilacs all morning and soon the basket she brought was full.

"You'll have all the rose wine you can drink now," he laughed.

They wound up taking a rest in the middle of the field so he could smoke his pipe and have some water. He took a sheet out of the back pack and spread it out for her to sit on.

"This is a perfect day, isn't it?" she sighed, laying back on the sheet. There were bees frequenting the clearing but nothing was bothering her in that moment.

The dress was pretty and fit perfectly, she knew he liked it by the way he was staring. She lay both her hands behind her head and grinned at him.

"Are you trying to get my attention, woman? Cause you got it," he smirked.

"I might be."

"You look beautiful."

"Come here," she said, softly.

She hoped the look on her face was crystal clear. It had been a long week as she waited to be able to get close again. Maisie decided now was the time to jump and be brave, what she really wanted was right in front of her. There was nobody else in the world she'd trust this much.

Something deep, dark and possessive inside her didn't like that the last woman he had tasted was the one who replaced him with another man. She wanted to be the last and only woman he did that with, it was just a matter of getting it started. She wanted his mouth on her body and between her legs so bad it hurt.

She pulled him down to kiss her and ran her hand up the back of his shirt and moaned softly.

"Here?" he asked.

"Yes...here," she whispered, pulling the skirt of her dress up passed her knees a few inches.

"Jesus...Maisie..."

She laughed and kept on kissing him. After a couple minutes he was curious what her end game was.

"What are you trying to get up to here?"

"I thought perhaps you could... _t_ _ravel south,_ " she whispered.

"Out here?" he asked, looking around the clearing at nothing but the flowers, trees and tall grasses. Connie was already passed out under a tree near by.

"Why not? There's nobody here but me and you and the bees and you know how bees can get."

She kept her eyes on his face and for all her bravado her heart was beating loudly in her ears and her breath was shallow.

"You really want me to?"

"I want to be the woman you do this with, the only woman for the rest of your life."

"Dear god above," he exclaimed.

"You love me right?"

"I love you so much it hurts, honey."

"Will you stay mine until we die?" she asked.

"Longer if I could."

He kissed her then and it was full of fire and passion. She melted into him and he lay his body over hers, pulling one of her legs around his back.

Merle's mouth claimed her throat, his hand moved up under her dress to her mid thigh and she already felt like her loins were on fire.

He eventually moved back from kissing her and just looked over her body for a moment. He moved his body between her legs and began to kiss lower and lower through her clothing, assuming she'd rather not be naked outdoors. He really only needed her panties off anyway and he couldn't wait for that. He reached her waist and slid his hands under her dress to touch the sides of her hips and she moaned desperately.

Her legs were open around him as he backed up look down at her for a beat.

He could feel her inner thighs tremble with nervous energy.

"We don't have to," he insisted.

"I want you to, you said so yourself that it's nerve-racking at first. I want it, Merle...please."

The tone of her voice said there was no doubt in her mind so he took her consent and proceeded.

Merle lowered his mouth and kissed her right knee softly. She smiled and closed her eyes with the hot sun beating down on her face.

He continued slowly, like molasses in January, up her leg toward her underwear.

"Good lord..." she breathed.

His hands slid up the outside of her thighs but her legs were still stiff.

"Relax your legs open just a little, honey."

She took a deep breath and did as he asked and he proceeded to kiss her inner thigh and then trail his tongue along where her panties met her leg.

"Mmmmmm..." she whined loudly.

Merle grinned and ran a single finger over the crotch of her panties and her back arched just a little off the sheet.

"You're the last angel I'll ever see cause I'm going straight to hell for this," he groaned.

She shaded her eyes from the bright sun and looked at his face.

"We'll go together then...keep going..."

Merle couldn't make it another minute without tasting her so he backed up and started to pull her panties down her legs. She lifted her body for him and grinned as he tossed them over his shoulder.

He lay his hands on her knees, moved her legs apart and then exhaled slowly as if in disbelief.

She could see the fire and lust in his stare and knew he liked what he was seeing. She kept thinking of him inside her, she wanted it badly now.

He came down and started with her thighs again before finally reaching her lips and she thought she might go mad from it. Maisie raised her arms up over her head and threaded her fingers through the stems of countless wildflowers, she had found heaven.

Merle slid his arms under her open thighs to hold onto her waist and she felt so close, just at the thought of where his mouth was. His warm, wet tongue teased slowly up one side of her lips and then down the other, like butter melting in a pan, and she had to try not to let go too fast.

"You really do like this," she said, sounding younger and more nervous than she had intended.

"I love it...do you like it?" he asked.

"Yes...it feels so good."

"You're beautiful," he uttered. "...just like a flower."

She laughed a little and held her hands over her face for a moment.

He brought his fingertips to touch her and gently pushed her lips apart and she hissed at the sensation of a warm spring breeze kissing her inner lips and entrance.

"Oh sweet Jesus..." she whined.

His tongue trace every inch of her and then he closed his lips over her clit. She had no idea this kind of pleasure was possible, it was insanity.

The tip of his tongue pressed against her entrance and then moved back up to her clit and this evil was repeated over and over until she couldn't bear another moment of it.

Only when he slipped one of his fingers inside her did she break into pieces.

"Merle! Oh...my God...Fuck!"

She couldn't even believe she said such a word but there was no other word for it.

He didn't quit until she lay her hand on his forehead for a break.

Maisie panted for air and tried to slow her heart for the next minute, riding the high of her love for him.

She couldn't think of anything to say, there was nothing to say. Words didn't matter, it was just feelings and sensations.

Finally she sat up and looked at his face.

"You alright, honey?"

She didn't answer him, instead she got to her feet and reached behind her back to slide down the zipper of her dress.

She shrugged it off the front of her body and stepped out of it.

He looked up at her in confusion as he watched her take off every stitch of clothing piece by piece.

"Make love to me, Merle."

She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and it fell all over her shoulders and breasts, Merle couldn't believe anyone was this beautiful.

He nodded and took off his clothes as well. Maisie lay down on the sheet and pulled single daisy from the ground. She twirled it between her fingers as she witnessed more and more of his skin being revealed.

A sleepy grin spread across her lips when he stepped out of his boxers, uncovering a very hard dick.

"I had an idea though..." he began. "You should be on top at first, I'd feel better about it."

"OK."

Maisie rolled onto her side next to him and kissed him hard, eager to close the deal. The sun kissed their bodies and all around them the breeze voiced it's approval at their love, blowing through myriad flowers releasing intoxicating scents.

She moved her leg over his hips and continued to kiss him. She could feel his hardness beneath her and her wetness sliding over it. To say she wasn't nervous then would be inaccurate but he had insisted on her being in charge and it did help.

She kissed his neck and chest and then moved her hips till she could feel him right at the entrance of her body and he moaned, pressing his fingers into her open thighs.

She pushed her hips back slowly and felt herself taking him in.

"Go slow," he whispered.

She continued because it wasn't hurting her, it just felt like sweet pressure inside her.

Soon she had sunk completely down on him and she dropped her forehead to his chest for a moment and kissed his skin before starting to move.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"No," she answered, rocking her hips slowly with her eyes closed. "It's nice...it's really nice," she grinned.

"Thank God for that, honey."

She kissed his lips and moved her body slow but steady. He touched her breasts as they hung down close to his face and she breathed heavy and deep above him. The look on his face was one she'd never forget. He looked at her like she was a goddess, she could feel his love drifting up to her through his eyes

"Merle...I want you on top of me now."

He wrapped an arm around her back and rolled her underneath him.

She brought her legs up to either side of his waist and he pushed into her, trying to match her movements and not go too hard. He had good control and she loved the way he felt deep inside her, he wasn't at all rough and she could feel herself responding.

"I love you, Maisie, more than my own life."

She whined under him and her nails slid down his back, scratching softly at his skin.

"I love you too...you feel so good inside me..."

His hand took her behind the knee and held it up around his hip as he made gentle love to her.

Merle had to cum long before he wanted to but it felt incredible. Her body was squeezing his dick so hard and she was wet and warm like he didn't think possible.

"I gotta...I'm sorry..."

He pulled out of her and poured hot cum all over the flowers at the foot of the blanket.

Merle stayed on his hands and knees for a full minute, trying to get his mind around everything and gasping for air.

When he looked up she had her knees together but turned to the side and her arms laying over her face.

She looked like some kind of angelic pin up girl and he died inside just looking at her. She was natural and beautiful, almost otherworldly.

She shaded her eyes from the sun and smiled at him and he knew it was the memory he'd hang onto till he died.

Her naked, milky body laying in the sun, surrounded by flowers...it just didn't get better than that.

"I love you," she whispered.

##################################

 _ **I hope everyone feels this was worth the 18 chapter wait. Lol** _

_**I worked on it for ages trying to get every word just so:)** _

_**Thanks to everyone taking a chance on this Merle story, I love you! It's going to be a fair bit longer than I originally thought. At least 30+ chapters. It will be taking a bad turn soon but just trust me that it will be OK:) lol** _

_**I read and appreciate every review so thank you very much.** _

_**Teagan xoxo** _


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

Merle crawled toward her and flopped by her side. The flowers, the sun, the warm breeze, everything was like a dream he didn't want to wake from.

"No regrets?" he asked.

"None," she answered, wrapping her arms around him.

They lay, watching the clouds pass carelessly overhead and life was paused in a perfect moment.

Eventually she got dressed, unable to take the smile off her face.

"I never thought something like this could happen when you turned up," he said as he watched her pulled her dress over her head.

"I'm starting to think life might be full of surprises," she laughed.

Merle pulled out the last bottle of rose wine and poured her a glass as they sat on the sheet.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Ravenous."

They ate the food he'd brought in the sunshine and talked about their plans for the future. Merle was excited to have plans for the first time in years and she looked happier than he'd ever seen her. He believed completely then, that he wasn't a bad person for making love to her and that they would be happy together.

 **#####################################**

Merle wasn't letting doubt ruin what they had now, she knew what she wanted and so did he. If she had wanted to leave she would have by now. The love he felt for her and the joy she brought him was worth the potential heartache anyway.

If she changed her mind as Mary had he was sure he wouldn't survive it but he had no choice but to risk it, he needed her like air now.

She held his hand as they walked and the wind blew through her hair, he had it all.

"I want to fix up the cabin, maybe add a bedroom. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a big job on top of the wine."

"I want it to be better for you. I built it just for me and I didn't care much about myself at the time. You deserve a better place than this."

"I love it as it is but if you want to improve it I'll help you."

"I'm starting on it today. If you want us to stay then I'll make it a proper home for us."

Maisie smiled and kissed him as they arrived back at the cabin.

She watched as he went right to work on cutting wood. She watered the garden and pulled weeds, the weeds were relentless.

He worked in the hot sun in just his undershirt and she watching with a dreamy smile on her face.

Making love to Merle in the meadow would never be topped. It had been so slow and ethereal, just like out of a book or a beautiful love song.

Rodger was nothing but a bad memory and her body was hers again. She would share herself with Merle but she was still her own woman. She wanted to ask him so badly what he thought of the idea of children. Not that she wanted them right away necessarily but she did want them someday. She considered that after losing his own kids that he may not want to do it again.

"Merle?"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up to her face and then over her shoulder. "Oh, look! Fitz is here."

Merle sounded surprised to see him, especially so late in the day.

Maisie turned and saw Fitz approaching on his horse.

"What brings you up here?" Merle hollered.

"Thought I'd come see how the pair of you are doing, just for a visit."

"Hi, Fitz!" she called.

"Ma'am."

He dismounted and began to shoot the breeze with Merle about war details Merle wasn't privy to, being up on the mountain. Maisie decided to give them a minute to chat and offered to prepare some food since it was nearly supper.

"Thank you, Maisie. You're a doll! You got a wonderful girl here, Merle."

Maisie blushed as she left them to go into the cabin.

 **#########################################**

"What really brings you here?" Merle asked. He knew him well enough to know he only came for the wine, he was a simple man.

"Things are weird in town, my friend. I'm thinking maybe you two are taking a chance sticking around the area. Half the town is saying she's dead the other half is still searching and Lydia Pederson has almost everyone convinced that Maisie lost her mind and that's why she ran off in the first place."

"Are you serious?"

"I know you two are all crazy for one another and not thinking of practical things but this could get to be a problem if they find you here."

"You think?"

"I really do. You might want to think about getting her out of the area."

"Jesus...where though?"

Merle had never thought of leaving and it was a lot to take in so soon.

Maisie walked out of the cabin a few minutes later and told them to come inside for supper. Fitz sat at the table and tried to act nonchalant about the concerns back in Sweetwater, he figured he'd leave it for Merle to discuss with her.

Merle invited Fitz to stay later but he declined. The two men went out to the front yard where Fitz had tied up his horse to chat before he left.

Merle lit his pipe and furrowed his brow, wondering what the right move to make even was.

"I'll talk to her and see what she says but we don't have the means to just up and leave right now."

"I don't know what to tell you but I had to warn you that things are out of hand down there lately. People get all crazy over a mystery, I'll say that much. It's all anyone can talk about since she disappeared."

"What do you think?" Merle asked.

"Honestly, Merle...I think this could blow up in your face. How serious is this between you? Maybe you could just get her on a bus to somewhere she could start over. Does she have any family she trusts out of town or anything?"

"It's serious, Fitz. I love this woman and if I can I'm going to marry her."

"Alright, my friend...just be careful."

Merle nodded but he was growing worried and would have to talk to Maisie.

"Thanks for coming all the way up here to tell me."

"No problem, see ya!"

 **#################################**

Merle waited until they were up in the loft to mention it, he didn't even know what he thought about it yet.

As soon as he lay down she was on him and he had to stop her for a moment to bring it up.

"What's the matter?" she asked, taking it personally.

"Nothing, honey...nothing like that. I just need to talk to you about something important."

Maisie rolled off of him and waited.

"Fitz says things are bad in town. Your mother in law is telling everyone you're crazy, some people think you're dead and some people are still searching."

"Oh god!" she groaned. "I wish they'd just forget about me."

"Apparently you up and disappearing is the mystery of the century and things are getting out of hand."

"So what do we do?"

"Fitz thinks we should leave the area."

"But I love it here, this is our home," she protested.

"I agree but I want to keep you safe. They might try to make you come back if they find us and they think you're not right in the head. Who knows what they might do?"

"It costs money to leave though. We have some, but not enough to start a new life somewhere new."

"That's what I said. Maybe we should just think on it for a day or two," he suggested.

"I think so," she agreed. "Why does something always have to come along and ruin things?"

"Nothing can ruin what we have, honey, we'll think of something."

Maisie smiled and curled up next to him, he sounded so certain and it made her feel better. Surely what they had couldn't be taken from them by anyone in Sweetwater, they'd been brought together by God himself.

She lay her head on his chest and drifted off, listening to sound of his heart beating.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

The next morning, Maisie woke up alone and immediately it felt wrong. She peered down the ladder to find Merle scribbling at the table again.

"Did I say you could get out of bed?" she teased.

He looked up at her and smiled.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep so I'm just working on this some more. I got inspired listening to you snoring."

"Hey, I do not snore!" she squealed.

Merle laughed and went back to his poem.

"Please, let me see it," she begged.

"Soon, I promise."

"You're testing my patience," she sighed.

"I just want it to be good and I've never written a poem before."

Maisie climbed down the ladder to kiss him good morning and as expected he turned the paper over when she approached him. She found his obsession with making it just right very sweet.

"It will be perfect, my man."

Maisie made breakfast and they went about their day, both still thinking about the issues in Sweetwater and contemplating leaving the cabin.

 **###################################**

Lydia Pederson sat across the desk from her lawyer, Edgar Brown, impatiently waiting for the answer she wanted. She decided that pursuing an annulment on the grounds of mental illness would be the fastest way to dissolve the marriage. The only other way was for Maisie to be missing long enough to be declared legally dead for a divorce to be granted and Lydia wasn't waiting. The idea that Maisie might still be alive and have any legal entitlement to her family's money was keeping her up at nights. She had filed all the necessary paperwork already and hoped to be completing the process.

"She was a mental case, plain and simple."

"Did you get the declaration from a doctor? I'll need it in order to make it official," Edgar informed her.

"Absolutely. Here," she answered, handing over the letter to him.

"I'll file this and it will be completed right away."

"Thank god! I'll be glad to have this done and behind us."

"Her parents never reported any illness, mental or otherwise, so the letter was a necessity."

"Between you and me, her father is a little off too. He was standing up in church, crying and screaming about her last Sunday asking everyone to pray for god to bring her back."

"The poor man, her mother must be devastated as well."

"Probably but nobody has seen hide nor hair of her since Maisie disappeared. Apparently she's hiding in the house and won't come out."

She stood and put on her white gloves before shaking his hand.

"Thank you for dealing with this so expediently."

"Yes, Ma'am, you are my best client."

"I'll remember the hoops you jumped through to accomplish this and you'll always have my family's business for the lumber yard," she smiled. "Come along, darling."

George Pederson, followed her out like an obedient dog and she wore a self satisfied smile. Once they were on the street she sighed with relief.

"How did you ever get Dr. Edwards to sign that document?" George asked. "I heard him say he'd never even met Maisie."

"Money talks, don't you know that by now? And what does it matter? She'll never come back here anyway."

"I suppose."

"You know I'm right, let's go home and put this mess behind us."

 **#######################################**

The next night Maisie and Merle still hadn't come completely to terms with their situation but were determined to make the right decision. As evening fell she cleared the supper dishes and watched as he lit his pipe to relax.

"That was delicious, honey. Thank you," Merle sighed.

"I love how easily impressed you are with canned stew and biscuits," she laughed.

"It was good, what can I say?"

Maisie couldn't wait any longer to know if parenting would ever be in the cards for them.

"Merle...do you think you'd ever want a family again?"

He looked up and she tried to read his face but couldn't.

"Do you want to have a baby?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes, but I understand if you don't want to."

"Honey...I'd love to. I just can't believe it, that's all."

"It's not so surprising is it?" she asked, walking toward him.

"I guess nothing about you should surprise me."

He reached for her, setting his pipe in the ashtray, and in an instant she was in his arms and kissing him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and walked him back toward his chair, she wasn't letting up. Things were uncertain now and the one thing she was certain of was her need to touch him. No matter what, she just wanted them to be together.

She knew what she wanted now and just how she wanted it. He was not only the kindest, warmest man around but he could fulfill her deepest desires as well, he was her man.

His heels hit the chair so he sat down before he fell down but kept his arms around her.

"You're a little aggressive, my girl...I like it," he laughed, looking up at her.

"I want you, Merle. It's all I can think about when I get like this."

Maisie had no idea how to go without touching him when he was right there with her and she knew how good it would feel.

"Jesus!" he uttered as she sank down onto his lap, facing outward.

He ran his hands around to her waist and she turned her head to kiss him over her shoulder, reaching up to hold the back of his head. She could already feel him growing hard beneath her and she wanted it so bad she could taste it.

The discovery of sexual pleasure was like opening Pandora's box, she was becoming a dangerous woman but he didn't mind one bit.

Only knowing the joy of making love at 24 left her wanting to make up for lost time. His hands took her breasts and he pulled her back a little further on his lap.

Maisie moaned and opened her legs around the outside of his thighs. He started to kiss her neck and then moved the tips of his fingers over her nipples through her thin bra and dress.

"The way you touch me, Merle, it makes me need you so bad."

She could feel his hot breath and facial hair on her neck and then he began to whisper words that set her body on fire.

"Tell me what you need, honey...do you need me to take this dress off?"

"Uh huh," she answered.

She liked the idea of a little question and answer.

Merle started on the buttons and then pulled it over her shoulders, uncovering her back and arms. She stood for a split second to get the dress out from under her and to pull her slip over her head.

"You're too much, honey," he groaned as she sank her weight back down on his lap, still facing out.

His hands went to her knees and he continued to inquire of her.

"Do you want me to touch you there? Are you wet, honey?"

"Yes...I'm ready for you."

"We'll just see about that."

His hands drifted slowly up her inner thighs and she let her head fall back onto his right shoulder.

The lantern was low and the room flickered with golden light, Maisie was enraptured.

"Now...please..."

He finally made it to her wet panties and moved his hand in slow, teasing circles.

"More?" he continued, sliding his other hand inside her bra.

"Jesus yes!" she moaned, arching her back and opening her legs wider.

He rolled her nipple gently between his fingers and she gasped and whined in the best kind of agony.

After a minute she tore her bra from her body and stood to turn her attention to him. Maisie ripped at the buttons of his shirt and slid his suspenders down his shoulders.

"I want you inside me," she said, matter of factly.

"You got it, honey...I'll give you everything."

He stripped off the rest of his clothes as she stepped out of her panties. She wanted to make him wait a little so she stayed facing outward, she was enjoying the power of it. Merle grasped her thighs and groaned at the sensation of her weight on his hard dick.

"Are you teasing me, woman?" he groaned into her back.

"Trying to," she answered.

"Two can play at this game."

Merle touched her wet lips as he bit at her throat. Maisie could feel his hard dick between her legs and she reached down to touch it against her inner thigh.

She could feel how desperate he was and she loved it.

"Should we maybe go up to the loft?" he panted.

"Can't we do it here? Just like this?" she answered.

He didn't answer right away, he just continued to touch her and tease her out of her mind. His middle finger moved into her and she moaned for more.

"Please...please now..."

He leaned forward with her enough to adjust everything and then slipped slowly inside her.

She made a whining sound like he'd never heard and her hips rolled in a half circle making him growl into her neck.

She lay her hands on his knees and continued to take him in and let him out in a sleepy rhythm that had him on the edge in no time. Only the tips of her toes touched the ground on either sides of his feet and she pushed off to move her body on his.

"I love you inside me, Merle."

"Good god, woman, I love you," he whispered, running his hands up and down her back. Her bare skin before his eyes was so pure and so pale he couldn't believe the beauty of it.

It continued for a few minutes as he held her breasts, teasing her nipples with skill and gentleness. Soon she needed to kiss his lips and feel her body against his so she stood up and turned to face him.

Maisie opened her legs over his lap and lowered herself down on his dick.

"Jesus!" he uttered, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close.

There wasn't much room for her knees on either side of his hips but it was just enough that she could move. She sank down and rose up a little faster and he kissed her deep, sliding his tongue into her mouth.

He held his big, strong hands on her back as she rode him steady.

"Merle...I need you."

"I need you too, honey."

"I'm going to marry you...the day that I can...I will," she insisted.

He smiled then and buried his face between her breasts as she pulled his head in close. Soon his mouth was taking her nipples in and rolling them over his hot tongue. He would suck softly and then make her crazy by easing off till she begged for more.

She felt his right hand on her ass, rocking her in a dreamy rhythm and his left hand holding her breast to his mouth.

"I'm going to...I need to..." she insisted.

"Do it, honey!"

"What about you-"

"Just do it," he whispered.

She could feel the pull down low in her belly with the motion of her body rocking against his and his mouth on her skin...she was closing in.

"I feel it...right there...oh god!" she cried out.

The first wave came and she grabbed a hold like hitching a ride on a moving train. She could feel her body clench and hold his manhood hard. Soon the pulses could be sensed fluttering all throughout her pelvis and she ground her desperate body into his faster and faster.

"Christ, Maisie! Oh Christ!" he panted.

There was only one word for it, she was _fucking_ him with all she had.

He clung to her and soon he couldn't bare it.

"Mmmmm...yes! Oh god yes!" he hissed, pulling her down on his dick and filling her with his hot fluid.

She stayed there, motionless, her arms holding his head to her chest for as long as she could.

Love like this had to be dangerous, she loved him more than herself and she knew then that she always would.

 **#####################################**

 **Bad stuff is still coming but it's going to be OK:) promise!**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone reading this story.**

 **I NEEDED to keep writing this pairing, they are a lot of fun to write so I had to add some conflict to extend the story line. I guess I could just write them fucking but plot is good also. LOL There will certainly be a lot more fucking though too;)**

 **Love Teagan XOXOXOXOXO**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_ __

Merle started to think more critically about Maisie's needs and his own. He decided Fitz was right, they should move on or else they'd end up with headache from Sweetwater.

If they were going to start a family then it would be wise for him to buy her a house so he'd need a regular job again. If he wanted to hang on and keep her safe he'd have to change and he was more than willing to do what it took. Leaving the cabin was not something he ever thought he'd do but he needed to give her more.

She was still resting her head on his chest the next morning but he knew she was awake and thinking about it as well.

"We'll have to go," he said.

"But where?"

"I don't know, honey. What do you think?"

"I want to live with you here and start our life together but I know you're right."

"I love it here but I don't want to risk your past catching up to you."

"Me neither, it makes me sad though...I love it here."

"I do too but it doesn't matter where I am as long as you're with me," he added.

"Of course," she smiled, "it doesn't matter where we are."

They resigned themselves to their situation fairly quickly. To stay was to risk needing to deal with her family and they didn't want that.

Suddenly all the things they were working on seemed pointless and when Maisie got up she drank her tea in the backyard staring at the garden. She had put so much care and work into it already and the shed was full of wine Merle had started for the season as well as the remaining bottles he had from the last season. It broke her heart to think of walking away from it all.

Merle walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I have a cousin I haven't spoken to in ages, maybe he'd take us in for a while until we got settled."

"Where?" she asked.

"Closer to Atlanta, I have no idea how we'd get there but it's all I can think of."

"We'll figure something out. When should we go?"

"As soon as we can."

Maisie sighed heavily and tried to remember that being together was the most important thing but the cabin was the best place she'd ever been. Merle was made for the mountain and so was she.

 **##################################**

Fitz ended up stopping by the next day and offered to buy bus tickets in town for them in exchange for the last crate of wine Merle had.

Merle went to the shed to gather the wine and Maisie stood with Fitz looking miserable.

"You two sure are in a spot, huh?" he said, lighting a hand rolled cigarette.

"Yes. My past won't let me be happy. Merle and I just want to stay here and be together, we aren't hurting anyone."

"I just don't think they'll stop till they find answers. Your father is organizing search parties still and ranting all over town about it. I just heard he's even been up in this area so it's only a matter of time."

"That doesn't even sound like him. He couldn't wait to marry me off to a man I barely even knew, why would he care now?"

"He seems pretty tore up about it and nobody's even seen your mother."

"I'm leaving with Merle so they'll have to keep wondering about me. They'd never stand for me marrying a divorced man who had children by another woman. They'd never stand for anything that made me happy."

Merle walked around to the front yard and started to wrap the wine bottles in old newspaper to put in the saddlebags on the horse.

"Drink it in good health, my friend," he laughed.

"Your wine will be the end of my good health. I hate to see you leaving."

"No choice, she comes first now," Merle smiled.

"I'll be back with the bus tickets as soon as I can then you can catch the bus in Crosby," Fitz advised them.

"That will have to do, thank you."

"You're welcome. Good day, Miss."

"Thank you, Fitz," she waved, and then leaned in against Merle.

Merle shook his hand, Fitz mounted his horse and was gone.

 **#############################**

"See? It's going to be OK now," Merle smiled as they sat down to eat that evening.

"I sure hope so."

"Come here, honey."

Maisie came and sat on his lap and he held her hand in his.

"Try and think of something positive," he suggested.

"Like what?"

"I don't know...baby names?" he laughed.

Maisie loved the sound of that and began to dreamed up what they'd call their children.

"I like the name Jane and I think we should name the boy Merle."

"Don't you dare name a child Merle!" he joked, squeezing her in his arms.

"You have something better in mind?"

"I like Jane but you gotta think of a better boys name."

"If you insist," she sighed.

"I'm joking. You can name them anything you like, honey."

Maisie wanted to stay off the topic but it wasn't easy.

"I hate that we have to leave everything behind, this is so wrong."

"It's going to be OK. I'll get a proper job and marry you and buy you house. This could be one of our last nights here, though. Will you let me try to take your mind off of it?" Merle grinned.

"Yes, please."

 **###############################**

The next morning Maisie awoke from the sweetest dream but when she came back to the reality they were in she started to feel blue again. Merle was buzzing around, tidying up and organizing their few belongings to bring along. Maisie felt trapped by her circumstances and thought a short walk would do her some good.

"Don't go far and take Connie with you," Merle suggested.

"I'll be back before you know it," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him.

"I don't know when Fitz will get here but as soon as he does we can head off to Crosby."

"I still can't believe this...I need some air."

"See you in a minute, honey. I'm going to pack up everything I can carry while you're gone."

"I won't be long, love."

Maisie wandered into the woods with Connie keeping her usual 20 feet ahead. The sky was clear, without a cloud in sight. She smiled at the soft breeze blowing through her hair, thinking of making love in the meadow.

Her dream had been of getting married and it was all so clear. She had pictured Merle in a dark gray suit, looking handsome and strong...her man. She continued on, still not too far from the cabin, and smiled to herself until she heard Connie growl deep in her throat. All she needed were more coyotes so she ducked behind a tree to wait it out. Whatever was making Connie agitated would eventually show itself. The growling got louder but Maisie heard nothing.

She held the trunk of the tree and stared into the direction Connie was beginning to snarl and bark.

Out of the dense bush came two men she'd never seen before and then her father.

 **#######################################**

 **Yes, this is going to get bad...I'm sorry. I'm going to make you sad for a while but I do love you, I swear. Teagan xoxoxox**

 **Thanks for reading! I think I'll post the next chapter this evening but I'm hella busy and need to edit it first:)**

 **The next few chapters are plot heavy but the end of this story will be worth it. PROMISE;) I got good stuff planned.**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

Maisie tried not to breathe and held her body stiff against the tree. She heard their voices as they tried to calm Connie down but the dog was having none of it.

The men talked and she heard her father suggesting they follow the path she'd been on. She stayed still, hoping they just wouldn't see her but it seemed unlikely. Their foot steps came closer and she closed her eyes, dreading them discovering her.

She wasn't far from the cabin but didn't know whether to call for Merle or keep him safely out of it. The last thing she wanted to do was bring him trouble.

The footsteps were suddenly right next to her and then, sure enough...

"Maisie?"

She looked up to see her fathers face and she was suddenly furious. She didn't want to be found and she knew he'd force her next move somehow.

"I have no intention of going back," she stated clearly.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked. His face stunned, like he was looking at a ghost.

"I've been here and I'm staying here. You can tell my husband I never want to see his face again and I'm not coming back to live with you and mother. I am not mentally unsound, regardless of what Lydia Pederson has to say, so leave me be."

"We'll do no such thing, Maisie, and you have no husband anymore."

Maisie didn't know how to respond to such a thing. How was she no longer married?

The two men who had been searching with her father just looked at each other and then back at her.

Connie started up her barking again and it was becoming heated.

"Boys, help me get her back to Sweetwater. She's not in her right mind."

"Do not lay a hand on me!" she warned.

"You can't live in the woods, Maisie. Look at you, you're all unkempt like a vagrant!"

The two men approached her, although apprehensively, and she didn't know what else to do.

"Merle! Merle, help me!" she screamed as they reached for her.

Only after she yelled did she see that one of the men had a pistol tucked into the back of his trousers and she wished she hadn't called for Merle, they would not have the upper hand in this encounter.

Merle came running out of the trees in time to stand between her and the men.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

"That's my daughter and I'm taking her home!" her father screamed.

"She's a grown woman and you're taking her nowhere!" Merle growl.

"Who are you? Have you brainwashed her against her own family? She's not well."

"She's just fine and you're not laying a hand on her.

Her father snatched the pistol from the other man's trousers and held it on Merle.

"She isn't being harmed here," Merle defended. "She doesn't need to go anywhere! Just ask her yourself!"

"We have a letter from a doctor stating that her word can't be trusted, she's not fit to voice an opinion."

"That's ridiculous! Maisie is more than fit to speak for herself!"

"What is the nature of your relationship with her anyway?" her father asked as it dawned on him that they were obviously intimately connected.

Maisie stepped out to stand at Merle's side and stared them all down.

"That's none of your business and you have no right to take me anywhere."

"I've heard enough! Taking advantage of a mentally unstable woman is a crime, you'll go down for this!" her father hollered.

"I never forced myself on anyone in all my life. You should be talking to Rodger Pederson about rape, not me!"

"Do you want to add slander to the trouble you're in? Let's go!"

"You'll only take her back to that house over my dead body!" Merle growled.

"The marriage has been annulled, The Pederson's won't even have her back now."

Maisie and Merle were taken back to where the men had their horses tethered and then on to Sweetwater.

Merle was led at gunpoint to the police station for interrogation and Maisie was taken back to the family home where she'd been raised.

 **##########################################**

"So Mr. Dixon, you've been up on the mountain going on two years you say?"

"Yes."

The room was sweltering hot, Merle didn't know where Maisie was and he was angry as hell. He was stuck being questioned by two morons in suits about whether or not he was a rapist. The whole thing was ludicrous.

"And Maisie Pederson just turned up on your property after she went missing from here?"

"Yes, we already went over this."

"It just doesn't make sense that you wouldn't bring her back."

"I tried and she refused to go, she said she'd sooner die. I told her she could stay with me until she knew what she wanted to do."

"This young woman, who grew up in one of the nicest homes in town, wanted to stay in your shack? Are we supposed to believe this?"

"It's the truth, go ask her!" Merle shot back.

"She'd not fit to even answer questions in her state."

"What state? She's more mentally fit than the two of you on your best days put together!"

"Lower your voice, Sir."

Merle sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Are you charging me or what?"

"So you admit to it?"

"I admit to nothing. Maisie and I are together and everything between us was consensual."

"Uh huh," the men smirked and looked at each other. "Nobody is going to believe a girl like that wanted to live in a shit heap and bed the likes of you. You'll want to come up with a better story."

"I don't need one, it's the truth," he growled.

"What's that? Speak up."

"I never forced her into anything, I'm not like that."

"Sure! I bet you're such a gentleman that she walked through your front door and seduced you."

"She isn't troubled and I never forced her to stay with me...we love each other."

Both men laughed at this and shook their heads like it was the stupidest thing they'd ever heard.

Merle looked down at the ground and could hardly believe these men he'd never met thought he was a rapist when the real criminal was Rodger Pederson.

He'd been so careful and waited till she all but begged for it, he wouldn't have it any other way after what she'd been through and yet here he was.

"We'll be charging you today," the older of the man chuckled and got up to leave.

"You're charging me with a crime that never occurred, you should be very proud of yourselves."

"You're a piece of shit, Merle Dixon. You took a frightened young woman into your pile of sticks and fucked her! You're fit for prison and not much else."

Merle sighed and knew there was no talking to them but when they left the room their words stung and he didn't know what to do. He would never hurt any woman, never mind the woman he wanted to marry and make the mother of his children. In his past life he had a daughter of his own so the idea of hurting a woman was unthinkable.

He needed to know if Maisie was safe but they wouldn't tell him anything about her. Being away from her hurt like hell and there was absolutely nothing he could do. All he could think of was her smile, up in the loft first thing in the morning, and the way she always pulled him into her embrace. He would do anything just to see her face in that moment.

It seemed that fate wasn't going to let him have love. He wondered why God had brought her to him only to have him fall desperately in love and then take her away. He was helpless to protect her now after promising to keep her safe and it killed him. He was being treated like an animal and could very well wind up in prison for all he knew.

Merle pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and read the words over and over, wishing he could give her the poem now. He was close to crying but he wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him broken.

 **###############################################**

 _ **Just a little note about the issue of mental illness in the 'good old days'. My mom was diagnosed with Manic Depression when I was 10 in the early 90s. They admitted her to a psychiatric hospital in Weyburn, Saskatchewan (that has since been torn down). Weyburn Mental Hospital was opened in the early 1900s when mental illness was completely misunderstood and they still treated it routinely with ECT (elecroconvulsive therapy), insulin therapy, cold water treatments and restraint (straight jackets). The really bad thing is that in the early 1900s and earlier, a person could have their spouse committed without even a doctor's say so. Unfortunately many people were taken to Weyburn Mental Hospital and countless other such places across North America who weren't even ill; some had addiction problems, some were eccentric (just different or creative types), many were homeless, many were homosexual. They were places you could just put people to keep them out of the way.**_

 _ **The only reason I bring this up is because it may seem strange the way they are discounting her opinion and so easily treating her as if she's sick without real proof. Women were often accused of being hysterical if they showed any defiance or backbone and Maisie has been obedient up until this point and so her family sees her standing up for herself as proof that the doctor is right about her mental state.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading:) Teagan xoxoxo**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23**_

"Sit down!" her father hollered.

Maisie sat at the kitchen table and glared at them both.

"Do you have any idea what you've put your own mother through? The poor woman has hardly been out of bed! And you were up on the mountain with that animal voluntarily?"

"Don't you dare speak of him that way!" she shot back.

Her mother was sat across from her wringing her hands in anger.

"How could you, Maisie?" she asked.

"You forced me into a marriage with a man who attacked me on our wedding night. When he returned, injured and helpless, I became a nurse to him and the entire family berated me! Is that the life you wanted for your only child?"

"Maisie, you cannot make up these wild stories about the most reputable family in town!"

Maisie gave up defending herself and switched to defending Merle.

"They need to let Merle go, he's a good man."

"We aren't discussing this any further, the man is a criminal," her mother snarled.

"Dr. Edwards is coming to see you soon, you need to calm yourself and forget about this man. The Pedersons graciously volunteered to send him to care for you even though you aren't married to Rodger anymore. This is the doctor you saw while you were living with them."

"I never saw a doctor while I lived there, not once."

"You really are sick, aren't you? Lydia Pederson says he came to see you more than once."

"That's nonsense! They wouldn't even let me see a doctor for my chest infection!"

"Maisie, that's enough of your lies! Get up to your room and wait for the doctor."

 **####################################**

"You have a visitor, Dixon!"

Merle got up from the bunk and walked to the bars to see who would ever come to see him.

Fitz signed the register and shook his head at Merle as he approached the cell.

"I came to bring the tickets to the cabin and you weren't there," he shrugged. "Didn't take long to hear they'd brought you in."

"This is ridiculous, you know that."

"Of course I do," Fitz insisted.

"Where is she?" Merle asked.

"At her parent's place. Someone said they are going to have her treated in the home by a Dr. Edwards. This is the talk of the whole town."

"Treated for what? She not sick!"

"I know that but old lady Lydia's been spinning that web about her being nuts."

"What do I do?" Merle groaned.

"I'm gonna see about speaking up for you at the preliminary hearing. I know you wasn't raping her, she was hanging all over you."

"We're in love," Merle added.

"I know, I know...I can go see Maisie for you if you like," Fitz whispered.

"Would they even let you in?" Merle asked.

The conversation took on a hushed tone but the guards were scarcely paying attention anyway.

"Don't you worry about me, man. I'm the town drunk and petty thief extraordinaire, at your service. Ain't a house built I can't sneak into."

"Can you bring her something for me?" Merle asked, reaching into his pocket.

"Sure, what is it?"

"A poem, I just finished it. It's personal so don't read it."

"Pfft! I ain't one for poetry. Any other message?"

"Just tell her I love her and tell her not to give up cause I'm going to get us out of this somehow."

"How?"

"Fucked if I know...just tell her."

"By the way, I found your dog and cat at your place when I came to bring you the tickets. I took 'em to my place till you get out," Fitz said, standing up to leave.

"Thanks, man. You're a good friend, Fitzy."

 **##################################**

By nightfall the doctor had just left and Maisie lay almost motionless on her old bed, her eyes opening and then closing rhythmically. She felt the effects of a tranquilizer starting to overtake her senses. She had fought him but was still stabbed in the ass with a syringe that would surely leave her dopey for hours.

Listening to them call Merle a rapist and predator had gotten to be too much and she lost her cool on them all.

She heard a sound outside her window and it took all the power in her body to turn her head. The moon was bright and she stared at the window frame wondering if she had imagined the sound, it was entirely possible.

Then she saw a man but it wasn't Merle it was Fitz, now she was sure she was dreaming.

The window opened silently and she grinned a little, wondering what else she'd be hallucinating about as he stepped inside.

"Maisie, what's the matter with you?" Fitz whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She managed to mumble the word 'drugs' and he understood immediately.

"Listen close cause I just got a message from your man."

She smiled and started to believe what her senses were telling her. Fitz was really there and had a message from Merle, it had to be real.

"He says he loves you and that he'll get you both out of this before you know it so don't give up and he gave me this to give to you."

She looked at the piece of paper in his hand and tried to reach for it but her arms were too weak.

"I'd read it for ya but I don't read so good and he told me not to anyway. I'll just put it in your pocket then, OK?"

She nodded her head once and he said he'd have to go before anyone found him but that he'd be back with more news if he could.

She managed to utter the word 'thank you' and he smiled and left back through the window.

Maisie couldn't keep her eyes open one second longer and drifted into a deep, dreamless and drugged sleep.

When she awoke she felt like she'd had a very strange dream and when she went to leave her bedroom she found that it had been locked from the outside and she panicked.

"Hey! Get up here and let me out! You can't hold me prisoner!" she screamed, banging her fists against the door.

When nobody came, she sat down on the edge of the bed to cry. She reached into her pocket for her handkerchief and pulled out the piece of paper. Maisie slowly unfolded it and then remembered completely that the dream had been real and what the paper was all about.

 _ **I prayed for you**_

 _ **and there you were**_

 _ **so perfect**_

 _ **and exactly what I needed**_

 _ **So hold me**_

 _ **take my soul**_

 _ **I give it freely**_

 _ **in the darkness before you**_

 _ **in all the light ahead**_

 _ **in the depths of the ocean**_

 _ **and the loneliest nights**_

 _ **through joys untold**_

 _ **and**_ _ **the promise**_

 _ **of your company**_

 _ **the taste of your lips**_

 _ **and the rhythm our love**_

 _ **took of it's own accord**_

 _ **on our mountain**_

 _ **it's as if nothing**_

 _ **lay beyond the borders**_

 _ **you and me**_

 _ **are one and free**_

 _ **my soul is only yours, love**_

 _ **I want no heaven in the end**_

 _ **for life would be hell without you**_

 _ **I can see us**_

 _ **in years to come**_

 _ **in a heaven of our own making**_

 _ **I believe it more than anything**_

 _ **I was meant to belong to you, honey, always**_

 _ **Merle xo**_

Maisie's heart broke into a hundred pieces and she couldn't contain it. She sobbed into her hands and pictured only his face and imagined only his touch.

How did he still believe it would work out? She felt she owed him that same faith but it ached so badly and seemed so hopeless that she would have to dig very deep.

 _ **#######################################**_

 _ **I apologize for this chapter being so miserable but I see this story as an epic love story and the angst and sadness of their separation just feels right even though I know it feels so wrong. Does that make sense? Lol**_

 _ **Please just hang on with me and I'll make it all better.**_

 _ **This poem doesn't have a name, I just wrote it for this story.**_

 _ **Thanks so much for reading! Love Teagan xoxo**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24**_

Joseph Carlson paced the floor of his parlor with his daughter secured upstairs in her bedroom.

"I don't even understand how this happened, Agnes."

"I don't understand anything about her anymore, she's mad as a hatter!" she huffed.

"The doctor will help her, I'm sure."

"I want that man put in jail forever. I shudder to think what he did to her. She needs to see Father Murphy and confess about this while her soul can still be saved."

"Good idea. I'll call for him. She's gotten herself in such a mess."

"When is the hearing?"

"The day after tomorrow and we'll be there to see that justice is done. The Pederson's said their doctor will testify that she's sick and therefore this man was behaving in a criminal manner to engage with her in...a carnal way."

"Don't even say it, Joseph! We'll never live this down, you know? Our daughter has ruined our name in this area forever."

"She can't help it if she's not right in the head, Agnes. We have to pray for her."

"I suppose."

"We have to, it's our duty as her parents to make her right with the Lord."

 **##############################**

Merle sat in his cell, unable to think of anything but Maisie until a lawyer showed up to speak with him.

"Mr. Dixon, I'm Thomas Brady. I'll be your attorney."

"This is all nonsense, Mr. Brady," Merle said, rolling his eyes.

"Call me Thomas. I'll do what we can but it with the testimony of this doctor it doesn't look good for you. We have your friend Fitzgerald O'Donnell to speak on your behalf...but he is known as the town drunk," Thomas cringed. "Is there nobody else?"

"No. I never touched her against her will, she agreed to marry me for Christ sake!"

"Calm down, Mr. Dixon, I'm here to help."

"You try being accused to raping the woman you love and staying calm, it ain't easy."

"I know this must be hard but please try to think of anything else we could say or do to convince the court to dismiss it. This is an almost impossible thing to disprove if they aren't taking Maisie's word into account."

"She's the most level headed, stable person I've ever known. Them not taking her opinion is ridiculous."

"It's that letter from the doctor, that's hard to get around."

Merle sighed and leaned back against the concrete wall of the cell. All he wanted was to be up in the loft again with Maisie in his arms.

 **#############################**

Maisie lay, looking up at the ceiling of her old bedroom and felt broken inside. She tucked the poem from Merle into her bra for safe keeping, his words were the only thing keeping her going.

She heard a knock at the door and didn't respond, she didn't want to speak to anyone.

"Maisie? Can I speak with you?"

It was the priest of her church, Father Murphy, and she growled under her breath.

"No!"

The door was unlocked anyway and he walked in as she knew he would.

"Your parents are very concerned about you, Maisie. This is very serious."

"Leave me be."

Father Murphy came to sit on the chair next to her bed and she rolled away from him.

"You need to make this right, Maisie. God will not hold you accountable for the sins of another, especially if you're sick."

She took a deep breath and tried to contain her anger.

"This man will be the one to pay for what happened in the hereafter, Maisie, not you."

Maisie sat up in bed and looked him dead in the eye.

"If he burns, I burn. God can do as he sees fit but I don't regret a thing."

"What's come over you?" he asked, looking stunned at her vitriol.

"I owe you no explanation, now leave me alone."

"You're running the risk of being excommunicated from the church, Maisie. This nonsense will get you nowhere."

"My relationship with God is not for you to judge and neither am I. Merle and I will be together, you just watch."

"He's going to jail, Maisie. He committed a crime by laying with you-"

"I wanted him to," she said with a dark smile.

"What?"

"I asked him to and I loved it," she sneered. "The moment we're together again I'm going to make love to him all night...now leave me alone!"

Maisie had no idea if she'd ever get to see him again, everything looked bleak and hopeless but she refused to back down with Father Murphy. They couldn't sway her into thinking what she and Merle had was wrong, not in a millions years.

Father Murphy left her bedroom, locking the door behind him and descended the staircase.

"Well?" Agnes asked, impatiently.

"She claims to love this man, she refuses to repent and she has no interest in redeeming herself."

Joseph looked at Agnes and shook his head.

"I should have just left her up there, she's a whore now."

"Joseph!" Agnes exclaimed.

Father Murphy bit his tongue and walked passed them to leave.

"I did what I could but she's either very sick or very determined to fall out of God's good graces," he added before leaving.

 **###############################**

Merle lay back on his bunk and smoke a cigarette one of the police had given him.

It all felt like a nightmare and he wondered why it was happening.

All he wanted to do was get her out of this town and keep her safe. He closed his eyes and saw her, laying in the flowers, looking at him with that smile and whispering 'I love you'. The memory made him smile and although it was only days ago it felt distant and surreal.

Merle could still taste her kiss and feel her hair in his hands and falling over his face as she lay over him. He wondered if she'd wait for him if he went to prison, it could be a long time. He wanted her to be loved but the idea of her being with someone else was a thought he had to chase away quickly.

He was still inclined to think God had wanted for them to be together and that maybe they were being tested. Merle wasn't ready to give up hope that he could have her back, he needed a reason to keep breathing.

He finished the cigarette and the lights in the small town jail went out around him, save for a dim yellow light at the guard's desk.

He prayed that she was safe and that she would hold on. He remembered her saying once that she couldn't go on if she was taken back and lost him and it made him afraid. He hoped his message to hold on had gotten to her and that his silly poem could make some small difference.

In two days he'd be standing before a judge defending himself against ridiculous charges and all he had was his word, Fitz and Maisie but nobody was listening to her.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25**_

The next morning the sun rose on the sleepy town and the heat became oppressive early in the day.

Lydia Pederson ate breakfast and drank tea with Rodger at the table and everything was normal and good for them but George was unsettled. His wife had always been strong and determined, it was something he'd fallen for in the beginning but now things were different.

Claiming this girl was sick in the head when they may never see her again was one thing but now that she was back it was a whole different story. A man was being charged with rape and it was clear that no such crime had occurred. George watched them eat and laugh like it was nothing but he had to say something even though he feared her wrath.

"Lydia, I think we have to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"We can't have this man punished for a crime he didn't commit."

"George, don't be obtuse! This is a man lives in a hut and sells wine. He bedded a runaway woman, he's hardly an upstanding citizen."

"But he's not a criminal."

Rodger looked at his father with annoyance and disgust.

"Mother can't say anything now without confessing to perjury. Why would you care if he goes to prison anyway? Maisie deserves to see how she messes people around, the poor bastard will learn a hard lesson."

George rolled his eyes and once again he'd been shut down by them. He went along with everything they said and even treated the girl with contempt while she'd been in his house but he was tired of it.

George wasn't sure he could go through with betraying his wife. He had never stood up for his own opinion with her but he knew he'd never forgive himself for not trying to summon the courage to do what was right.

 **################################**

Nobody came to speak to Maisie since Father Murphy left, she had been brought food to eat but that was all. She knew the hearing was the next day and all she could think about was Merle being accused of a horrific crime and having nobody to defend him. Nothing could be more wrong than a man as patient and gentle as Merle being treated that way.

Maisie almost wished she'd never met him, that he was still up on his mountain and free, but she also knew how happy they had made each other. They shared something she would never find again. She would never love anyone else if he was taken away, she would wait as long as it took.

 **###############################**

Later in the afternoon, still the night before the hearing, Merle was playing cards with the cop manning the desk when Fitz came to visit. All the cops guarding the jail were friendly enough and he hadn't seen the cops who had interrogated him since the day he was booked.

Being stuck in limbo when what he needed to do was get to Maisie was driving him crazy.

"Did you see her?" he asked Fitz quietly so the guard wouldn't hear.

"That doctor had her drugged," Fitz answered. "I talked to her but she was a little out of it. I gave her the paper and I told her everything you said.

"Thank you...I'm going insane in here. Why the hell would they drug her?" he growled.

"I don't know, man. Tomorrow the court could be packed. I heard it's in all the papers in the area."

"Damn it! There was no crime for Christ sake!" Merle huffed.

"All these morons have made up their minds already. I know you didn't do nothing and I'll get up and tell 'em that for all the good it'll do."

"I appreciate it, Fitz. You're one of the good ones."

"Hell, I can see you two are supposed to be with each other."

Fitz stayed to keep him company until the guards said he had to leave and Merle spend the rest of the evening going out of his mind with worry about what would happen to Maisie if he didn't get out.

 **##################################**

"You're not coming, Maisie."

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked. Maisie had lost some of her fire after being trapped in her room for so long. It was starting to become evident that she had lost the war and that she'd never see him again.

"We tried to help you and you threw it back in our faces. We just want to be sure this man goes to prison for the good of the community, then we'll decided what's best for you."

Maisie just sat on her bed and let the tears roll down her face, she had never felt so defeated. She knew the memories of what she had with Merle would haunt her until the day she died. Nobody else could ever love her the way he did.

"He's a good man. You are making a huge mistake."

"We'll be home when it's over and you'd be wise to think long and hard about changing your attitude and letting the doctor and Father Murphy help you."

"You can both go to hell," she answered dryly, glaring at their faces.

 **####################################**

The fans on the ceiling of the courtroom spun as if in slow motion. Merle felt disorientated and lost in his reality. He was led into the large room and sat down at the table next to his attorney. None of it seemed real to him and he looked around to see if he could spot Maisie's face but he quickly discerned that she had been kept away from the proceedings. It was just as well, he would likely break down if he had to look at her eyes as they tore him to shreds.

Her father and mother were there, as well as the Pederson's. It was a nightmare.

The only one on his side was Fitz and he had no idea how effective that would be, probably not very much at all, but he still appreciated it.

The hearing was to determine if there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial and he hope there wasn't, he just wanted to take Maisie and go home.

The room was oppressively hot and it felt as if the air was in short supply. He imagined going to prison for the crime of loving the wrong woman and it was surreal.

The DA began by putting Maisie's father on the stand to retell the events of finding them in the woods. Merle listened as he went over the details while putting a villainous spin on everything Merle had said.

Next the Pederson's all gave an account of Maisie's 'erratic' behavior while she lived with them, everyone except George Pederson.

Merle stared daggers at the face of the man who had attacked his Maisie. He wanted to kill Rodger, wheelchair or no wheelchair. Rodger dared to say Maisie was a woman with loose morals and that he suspected her of being with other men before him.

When the court took a recess Merle noticed an argument taking place between the Pederson's and wondered what they had to fight about, he was the one about to lose his freedom.

Fitz went over his questions again with Thomas and Merle sat at the table taking in all the faces around him, the place was packed. It struck him as amusing that all these people were gathered for nothing, no rape had even occurred but they were discussing wrongful confinement charges as well. The entire thing was a joke.

After the prosecutor spoke to Dr. Edwards and he was cross examined by Merle's lawyer it was time for lunch and then the defense would have their say.

By the time Fitz took the stand Merle knew he was screwed and that he'd never touch Maisie again so he hung his head and tried to imagine how he'd ever survive it.

Thomas asked him a series of simple questions about his impression of the relationship between Merle and Maisie.

"They were happy together. Maisie told me herself that she loves him and she seemed perfectly stable to me," Fitz said, trying his best to sound well educated and proper.

"Did she speak to you while not in the presence of Mr. Dixon?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you've known, Mr. Dixon for two years and never known him to be violent or have problems with women. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir. Merle Dixon is a good man."

"Thank you. Mr. O'Donnell ."

The Prosecutor quickly discredited Fitz, calling into question his honor and past arrests, drinking problem and lack of employment.

Merle saw the door close on his freedom and happiness, the judge seemed to see it too.

"Do you have nobody else to speak for you Mr. Dixon?"

Merle stood up when the judge addressed him.

"No, you're Honor...but I didn't do this."

The courtroom was silent as everyone awaited a response from the judge.

"I'll speak for him."

The voice was soft and came from the very back of the courtroom.

"And who are you, Madam?"

"I'm his ex wife."

Merle shivered when he heard Mary's voice, he didn't even want to see her face so he didn't turn to look at her. The last time he'd seen her she was standing next to the man she left him for with his two children and he was walking out the door.

She came forward to the stand and took the oath on the bible.

"What do you have to add about Merle Dixon's character, Ma'am," Thomas asked her.

Mary was a short woman with blonde hair and glasses, she looked nervous and fidgety but Merle didn't see this because he couldn't bear to look up. There was a deep well of anger and betrayal inside him and it was the worst time imaginable to be confronted with her. He felt nothing for her and hadn't for a long time but not seeing his children had killed him.

"He's a good man, he always was. Merle would never hurt a woman."

"How long did you know him?"

"I knew him only 6 months before we were married but we have two children and were married for 4 years. He's a war veteran, who served his country proudly. He's a kind and gentle man who was never rough with me or raised his voice in all the time I knew him. I read about these charges in the paper and I felt I had to come forward."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

The judge asked if there was anyone else who wanted to speak and that's when George Pederson finally stood up.

"Sit down, George," Lydia snarled.

"No," he answered, approaching the stand where Mary was stepping down.

"Aren't you speaking for the prosecution?" the judge asked, looking baffled.

"No, your honor. I wish to speak for the defense."

The court fell silent and Merle looked up when he knew Mary was back at her seat. George Pederson was red in the face and wide eyed, he looked terrified and his eyes jumped over at his wife occasionally.

He took the oath and sat in the box awaiting questions from Thomas Brady.

"What do you have to add concerning Mr. Dixon?" he asked.

"It's not really about him, it's about Dr. Edwards and my wife. Maisie Carlson is not mentally unfit...my wife concocted the story to obtain the annulment. She paid Dr. Edwards to sign the papers."

Almost everyone in the room gasped and Merle grinned, thinking maybe the tables were turning.

Further questions were asked to gain more details about the ruse and how much money had been paid to the doctor. George Pederson even had the check stub with him to prove it.

"I want to hear from Maisie Carlson herself," the judge demanded. "I'm calling for a recess until she can be brought before me and then I'm throwing this case out."

He smacked his gavel down on the desk with a crisp CLACK and Merle dropped his head into his hands...he was going to get his life back.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Mary's face.

He had nothing to say to her, he just wanted to see his children but he waited for her to speak.

"I wronged you, Merle, and I'm sorry."

"Why did you do it?" he asked.

"I was stupid and selfish and I met someone I fell in love with."

"You never loved me, did you?" he asked, although he had no idea why he was asking since he no longer cared.

"I honestly thought I did at the time. Would you like to see the children?"

"Of course I would!" he shot back. He had always wanted to be a part of their lives, even if she didn't want him.

"We'll make arrangements then...I really am very sorry, Merle."

She handed him her address, written on a scrap of paper, and he tucked it in his pocket. He wanted to stay angry but the idea of seeing his children again as well as getting Maisie back made him too happy to bother.

"Thanks for coming and saying what you did," he offered.

"You were always a better man than I gave you credit for and I hope that Maisie makes you very happy," she said.

"She does, I've never been so happy."

"Good...you deserve it."

Mary went sit back in her spot and twenty minutes later the bailiff entered the courtroom with Maisie walking next to him. She hadn't been told anything by the look on her face and Merle loved how lost she appeared, he couldn't wait for it to dawn on her.

The judge looked down at her baffled face and asked her what she thought of Merle Dixon.

"I need your honest and unbiased impression of the man, it's very important."

She looked around her and then took a slow breath before speaking.

"I ran away from my family and wound up in the cold and rain, I was sick with a bad chest cold. I took shelter in Merle's shed with nothing but the clothes on my back. He didn't know me from Adam and yet took me in and cared for me. I was fed and clothed and given medicine and was asked for absolutely nothing in return. We became companions quickly and enjoyed each other's company. Soon it became more than just friendship and it was me that instigated the relationship. I love him completely and in every way a person can. He is gentle and kind and would never be forceful with anyone, I'd bet my own life on it."

The judge smiled and looked over at Merle.

"This case is dismissed," he said simply.

With another crack of the judge's gavel it was over and Maisie stood in disbelief and confusion. She turned to look at Merle and his eyes said everything she needed to know, it would be OK now.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26**_ __

Merle stood up and shook Thomas Brady's hand before walking straight toward Maisie.

She still had a stunned look on her face and he loved it. The volume in the courtroom was increasing as everyone came to terms with what had just happened. Maisie's family were ranting and George Pederson was being screamed at by both Rodger and Lydia.

In all the chaos, all he saw was her.

"Come here, honey," he said the moment he touched her.

"Is this real?"

"It's real," he answered, pulling her into his arms and lifting her off her feet.

"I'm not leaving our cabin," she whispered into his neck.

Merle understood it right away, she was going to stay where her heart was and he loved her for it.

He finally set her down and kissed her slowly, like they were alone in the loft and nobody else existed. Merle never thought he'd taste her lips again and he savored it like it was the only kiss he'd ever get.

Their reunion was interrupted by her father ranting that she wasn't welcome back home ever again and that he hoped she'd be happy living in sin.

"I will be, I assure you. You are not family to me anymore, either of you," she stated.

Merle grinned and put his arm around her as she made it plain that she was finished with them.

The crowd began to filter out of the courtroom and eventually it was just Maisie, Merle and Fitz sitting a few rows back.

"What do we do now?" he asked her. He had a feeling she knew exactly what she wanted.

"We go home and we live our lives. I want you up in our loft all night long."

"All night?"

"Can you handle it?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'll sure try."

Merle realized then that Fitz was waiting for them to stop canoodling.

"Thanks again, Fitz," Merle offered.

"Not a problem. You two should come by my place for a drink and to pick up your animals on the way home," he offered.

 **#########################**

Fitz lived in a single bedroom in an old house owned by a widow he did odd jobs for. When they arrived Connie was yipping and jumping like mad to see Merle. Maisie was let in on what had happened in the courtroom and how it was that he'd been set free. She looked stunned to hear that Mary had shown up and he knew they'd be discussing more about her later.

"I can't believe the way this all turned out!" Merle exclaimed as Fitz handed him a drink.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Maisie said, holding his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Ain't you two the cutest...so what's next? You getting the hell outta this place," Fitz asked.

"We're staying," Maisie said, "the mountain is our home."

Merle loved the determination in her, she wouldn't be chased away by anyone.

Fitz shrugged his shoulders like he didn't understand why they'd do such a thing and turned on the radio to play some music.

They stayed for a while and had more than a couple drinks to celebrate Merle's freedom before heading home. Fitz said he'd refund the bus tickets and let them have a few bottles of the wine back to celebrate. Maisie carried Ginger in her arms and Connie walked ahead as always.

"It'll be a long walk home," he sighed.

"I don't even care, I'm so excited right now!"

They strolled down the main street and the few people still out and about stared at them like they were infamous. Maisie grinned and held his hand as she walked, she felt 10 feet tall and bullet proof.

The walk was a long one and they talked along the way about what it meant to be free and what they'd do with it. Maisie found that she had to know more about Mary and couldn't resist asking.

"So, Mary read about it in the paper?" Maisie asked.

"Yes...she says I can see my children and gave me her address. I guess I'll write a letter and arrange to see them."

"That's good," she said, smiling up at him. "She didn't come to get you back, did she?"

"No, honey. She never loved me, she even said as much. Mary is still married and happy and it wouldn't matter if she did want me back, I love you."

"I'm just being silly, sorry."

Merle stopped on the path and took her by her shoulders.

"I couldn't want anyone but you, Maisie. As soon as we can I want you to be my wife and start a family with me if you still want to."

"Of course I do," she smiled.

When they made it back, the cabin looked different already. All the things they were planning to run away with were still packed by the door and it was dark and desolate.

"I'm going to get the fire going, OK?"

Maisie smiled, walked into the cabin and set Ginger down on the floor. She never felt so good to be anywhere before. She lit the lantern and sat down in his chair feeling calm again. She heard him singing as he chopped some wood out back for the fireplace, all was right with her world again.

 _ **"I lost myself on a cool damp night**_  
 _ **Gave myself in that misty light**_  
 _ **Was hypnotized by a strange delight**_  
 _ **Under a lilac tree**_  
 _ **I made wine from the lilac tree**_  
 _ **Put my heart in its recipe**_  
 _ **It makes me see what I want to see**_  
 _ **and be what I want to be**_  
 _ **When I think more than I want to think**_  
 _ **Do things I never should do**_  
 _ **I drink much more that I ought to drink**_  
 _ **Because it brings me back you...**_

 _ **Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love**_  
 _ **Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love**_  
 _ **Listen to me... I can't see clearly**_  
 _ **Isn't that she coming to me nearly here?**_  
 _ **Lilac wine is sweet and heady where's my love?**_  
 _ **Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?**_  
 _ **Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?**_  
 _ **Isn't that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?**_  
 _ **Lilac Wine, I feel unready for my love..."**_

When he came back in he was carrying an armful of wood and she waited till he set it down before pulling him close.

"I swear I almost lost it without you," she said softly, laying her cheek against his chest. His arms felt even better around her, she didn't think it was possible but they did.

"Me too, honey...me too."

"What should we do now?" she asked.

Merle grinned and took her face in his hands and kissed her softly.

"Why don't you go put on my nightshirt? I'll pour you some wine and you can read me a poem or two before I show you how much I missed you."

"Good god! That sounds perfect," she winked.

"Maybe we could get working on that baby," he teased.

"Definitely."

 _ **###############################**_

 **Lilac wine was written in 1950 by James Shelton so I took artistic license by putting it in a story set in 1942 but it works perfectly in this story. If you've never heard the rendition of this song by Miley Cyrus you should give it a listen cause it's amazing (I'm not really a Miley fan but credit where credit is due). It was from a backyard performance years ago before she went all twerky. Lol There's also a Jeff Buckley version but honestly Miley's is better. She went a little kooky but that girl can sing.  
**

**Next chapter is very NSFW;) thanks for reading! Teagan XOXO**


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27**_

The evening was going to be perfection, having him back for good was the only thing she really wanted.

Merle started to get some food ready as she wandered outside to wash up. The stars were starting to show themselves early and she grinned, knowing the rest of their lives would be for them to determine.

She slipped into his nightshirt and twisted her hair up into a loose bun. Nothing would keep her from being his wife now and with any luck she'd be carrying his child soon, the idea made her giddy.

Maisie had always wanted to be a mother but only with the right man as the father for her children, Merle was that man.

When she came back inside he was lighting candles and putting food down at her spot at the kitchen table. All they had was tinned food and crackers but it didn't matter. Merle was going to to fix up the cabin and with the garden still growing in the back and his wine to sell at the end of season they'd be fine. Life would be hard work but they were up for it and by the end of summer he'd have the cabin fixed for the family they hoped to have.

"Thanks," she said softly, sitting down across the table from him.

"I've never been so happy...that was a nightmare!" he sighed.

"It's all over now, love. We have nothing but good things ahead."

"Do you want to get married in Crosby or Sweetwater?" he asked.

"It's such a long way to Crosby...what do you think?"

"Anywhere is fine by me. I hope they don't try to mess with us again in Sweetwater," he added.

"I doubt it but we'll go to Crosby if it makes you feel better."

Merle smiled at her and reached for her hand across the table.

"I'm gonna love you forever, honey."

Maisie smiled, she knew every word he said her her was true.

She collected the plates after they finished eating and Merle sat in his chair and lit his pipe. He poured them each a glass of the wine, recovered from Fitz, and she spread out the quilt on the floor.

"You have a chair now," he said, pointing to it. "Why do you want to lay there?"

"No reason, I just feel like it," she smiled.

Maisie lay on her belly with her feet in his direction, she had needs and they would be met but she wanted to get his attention first.

She hadn't put on any underwear after washing up and that was entirely by design. She lay her legs out straight and crossed her ankles.

"I dreamed about our wedding," she began.

"Yeah? How did it go?" he asked.

"You were wearing a dark gray suit and had a red carnation in your lapel. I was in a simple white dress and holding a bunch of wildflowers. I think it was just a town hall but it was beautiful."

"That sounds nice," he said. "It can be just like that if you want, honey."

Maisie looked over her shoulder and bent her legs at the knee, raising her feet up. She crossed her ankles again and he was definitely looking.

"I woke up before I could dream about the honeymoon."

Merle's eyes lay unapologetically on her ass and he took a deep breath.

She smiled and went back to her book...she was planting seeds in his mind and she loved it. They could have easily jumped each other the second they came through the door but it wasn't their style. Maisie loved the teasing nature of their relationship, she loved to entice him.

"What do you want for a honeymoon?" he asked.

"I don't really mind what we do as long as I can take off your suit piece by piece and make love to you."

"Jesus, honey...I gotta have you."

"I thought you wanted me to read you poems," she teased.

"You got one for me?" he asked.

Maisie slowly crossed and uncrossed her ankles and began to read.

" **Draw it out**

 **make me want for you**

 **take all I give**

 **and give all I need**

 **under the sky**

 **and into the earth**

 **make me whole**

 **paint my body in your lust**

 **drink the nectar**

 **pour the wine**

 **use your tongue, use your lips**

 **taste my body with your mouth**

 **strong hands**

 **white thighs**

 **bring me your sin**

 **take my body with your love"**

Maisie could hear him getting up off the chair but didn't turn around. She moved one of her legs out to the side while keeping the other leg straight and his nightshirt rode up to just below her ass.

Merle couldn't take it one more moment. It had been torture, not grabbing her the second they got home but he knew it was better this way.

He got down to the ground and approached her slowly from behind, reaching out to touch her foot. She jumped a little but then rested her head down on her crossed arms and grinned.

Merle bent down and brushed his lips against the sole of her foot and she could feel the spark and then tingle move all the way up her leg.

His hand took her calf and he pressed his lips to the inside of her ankle. Her breathing had already changed and he grinned as he kept going. It was no time to be casual about making love, this was something he never thought they'd do again. He was the kind of man who had the patience to do it right.

He couldn't resist looking up under the nightshirt at her milky white ass peeking out from under the material. With her one leg spread way out to the side he could see her moist sex glistening in the lantern light and he was hungry for it but he wanted to make her need it more than she ever had before.

Maisie knew where his eyes surely were and it turned her on. His hot, wet mouth came closer and closer, it was sinful perfection.

Merle trailed the tips of his fingers up her inner thigh to within inches of the wetness and she pushed her face into the quilt and covered the back of her head in her hands.

"What do you need, honey? Do you need my touch?" he inquired.

"...yes."

"Well, you can't have it...not yet."

He set his knees on either side of her straight leg and slid his hands under her body to get to the buttons of the nightshirt.

Maisie got up momentarily onto her hands and knees so he could undo the buttons and undress her. She pushed her bare ass back into the crotch of his pants, making him growl.

He imagined taking her from behind and it made him harder than ever for her.

"Trying to get the upper hand?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"Lay back down on your belly for me," he whispered.

She lay back in the same position as before, hoping like hell he'd touch her soon.

Merle lay down beside her and she rested her face on her folded arms again and smiled at him. He ran his fingers lightly up and down her body all the way from her knees to her shoulders.

His fingertips teased her inner thigh and she closed her eyes trying to refrain from jumping him. Merle reached up to the table and grabbed his wine glass.

Maisie was confused for a moment until he slowly poured chokecherry wine over the small of her back and then licked it off.

"Ohhhh..." she gasped at the change in temperature from cool wine to hot mouth.

"Like that?"

"Jesus, yes."

He poured a little between her shoulder blades and it trickled down her back to her ass and he followed the raindrop of red wine all the way down with his tongue.

"Mmmm...you're making me crazy..." she hissed.

Next thing she knew he was over her and kneeling between her open thighs.

He kissed from her neck to her tailbone as she began to squirm and writhe under him.

"Touch me, please," she whined.

There was a pause in his touch as he was pulling off his clothes and then laying his bare chest on her back. His hands slid under her chest and she raised up onto her elbows so he could feel her breasts.

He bit at her throat and thrust his hard dick against her inner thighs making her throb to have him deep inside her.

He pinched lightly at her nipples and she couldn't think straight anymore. She raised her hips off the ground to increase the contact with his dick and he growled into her hair.

"You're my woman, Maisie...tell me you're mine."

"Only if you're mine," she whispered.

"I am...only yours...always," he insisted.

"I'm your woman, Merle...take me...please."

"Not yet...get on your knees for me."

She didn't question it for even a second, she was too far gone and she wanted every single thing he had to offer her.

She got up on her knees and hands and he nudged her legs further apart. She felt his lips on the back of her thighs and then suddenly he was under her, pulling her wet core down to his mouth.

This was definitely not something she'd ever heard of but she knew the wonders he could do with his mouth so she let him lead her down.

"Merle...oh...damn!"

Maisie could feel his strong hands holding her knees apart and his tongue moving slowly under her. She couldn't help but move herself against his face. Looking down, all she could see were his closed eyes and his forehead. Maisie leaned forward, placing her hands on the quilt, and rolled her hips to slid her wetness over his mouth and he tightened his grasp on her, pulling her down to meet his fury.

"Mmmm...oh god!..."

She moved just the few more times it took to cum hard and long and loud. She let him out from under her before her body went limp from release.

Her eyes were shut tight and she stayed on all fours but resting her weight on her calves as she caught her breath.

When she turned he was waiting, hard as stone and with eyes full of fire, for her next move.

She crawled to him and took his throat with her tongue and her teeth as her hand grasped his dick and jerked him slow and sweet.

"I'm going to suck it...tell me you want me to," she insisted.

"I do...I want you to."

She grinned and bent down to take him in her mouth. It was faster and more urgent than last time but she was desperate to proceed as soon as possible.

After only a minute or two he couldn't take it, "Honey...I gotta get inside you...please..."

Maisie couldn't agree more and when he lay his hand on her bare back she backed up against him and he took a hold of her hips. He thrust into her smooth and slow.

She just whined and raised her hips to take him further inside her.

"I feel it everywhere," she cried out.

"Me too," he groaned.

He fucked nice and steady and she found herself dropping her shoulders to the quilt to feel him deeper inside.

"Merle...it's so good," she sighed, the sound of released on the tip of her tongue again.

Merle leaned over her body and reached for her breasts, swinging with each thrust of his hips.

They were both so close and they knew it.

He kissed her back and then move his right hand between her legs to touch her clit.

She made a guttural sound as she felt her body tighten around his dick, it was going to happen again.

She rested back on her calves a little as he touched her everywhere, including right where their bodies were connected. His strong fingers on either side of his dick as he moved in and out of her was all she could handle.

It was too much for him as well and with just a few more wet, slippery circles over her clit the whole works collapsed.

Words were gone, it was all just sweat, growling, fucking, love and joy as they rode the wave together.

 **##################################**

He wrapped her up in his arms as they lay face to face.

Maisie felt overcome by it all. She was so happy she couldn't help but tear up. Just the idea that so easily they could have lost each other left her feeling clingy and vulnerable.

"What the matter?" he asked, holding her to his chest.

"I'm happy..." she managed to utter. "I just thought I was going to lose you."

Merle understood what she was feeling and was emotional as well but he wanted to be strong for her.

"It's gonna be OK now...we'll be married soon," he said, kissing her forehead. "Don't cry, honey."

Maisie smiled and pressed her face to his chest, she couldn't wait to become Mrs. Merle Dixon.

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 ** _One chapter left:) Posting in a few hours. Thank you for reading!_**

 ** _~ these poems have been super fun to write. lol_**

 ** _SO grateful to Krissyg49 for her contribution to this piece, it really made the story SO much better! LOVE YOU XOXOXOXO_**


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28**_

Within a few days Merle and Maisie were eager to get a hold of a marriage license and proceed with their future plans. Merle wrote a letter to Mary asking when he could see the children and mailed it in Sweetwater.

He decided he wanted to get married there after all so that they all had to bear witness to it.

They didn't see anyone they knew in town except Fitz and Thomas Brady who they ran into on the street.

"Nice to see you two," he offered with a friendly handshake.

"Nice to be a free man," Merle laughed.

"That has to be one of the stranger hearings I've ever been involved in. Lydia Pederson has been charged with perjury now."

Merle laughed to himself and shook his head.

"So what are you doing in town?" Thomas asked.

"We picked up our marriage license," Maisie informed him.

"Congratulations. Where are you getting married?"

"I'm not welcome at the church anymore," Maisie chuckled, "so I'm thinking town hall. It doesn't really matter, we just want to be married."

"If you don't have a Justice of the peace yet, I could do it," he suggested.

"That would be great," Merle said. "Will Friday work for you?"

"Friday is good. I'll book the town hall for noon if that works."

"Perfect, thank you," Maisie grinned.

Maisie found a white dress that would work for any function and Merle bought a dark gray suit jacket for the ceremony. A full suit was of little use to a man on the mountain but he wanted it to be as close to her dream as possible.

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That Friday, Merle woke up with a huge smile on his face. He'd been working on his wine and fixing up the cabin all week.

A room was going to be added and he was insulating the walls, it was going to be great by the time the fall came.

He looked over at her and she was still dead to the world asleep. It was hard to believe he was going to be married again and this time it was real. The love he and Maisie shared was everything it should be.

He had to wake her even though she looked so peaceful, they needed to be at the town hall by noon to meet Thomas.

"Today's the day," she grinned as she stretched and yawned.

The morning was a rush but Maisie still stopped before even getting dressed to check her precious garden. She pulled the weeds that appeared daily and watered it.

"Look at you! On your wedding day, knee deep in dirt," Merle laughed. "I love it!"

"You'll still marry me if I'm dirty, right?" she winked.

"I consider it a bonus but we gotta get moving if we're gonna make it there on time."

Maisie washed up and put on her white dress and boots. The walk was too long to wear dress shoes and she didn't care what she looked like. She braided her long, dark hair and tied a red ribbon at the end. Maisie brought along a bouquet of wildflowers and it was all she needed, simple and sweet.

It was really just a matter of vows and signing paperwork with Thomas but it still felt very romantic for them. Fitz came along to sign as their witness and he was very happy for them both.

The way Maisie looked at Merle made him feel incredible, it always did but especially on this day. She made him feel like a king with just the way her eyes lit up to see his face. She had shown him exactly how love was meant to feel and he'd be eternally grateful.

When everything was completed she carried the wedding certificate out onto the street and he swept her up into his arms and kissed her passionately for all the world to see.

He would never hide his love from anyone and Sweetwater would just have to see it and deal with it.

Merle took her for a nice meal at the local hotel and the bartender gave them a complementary bottle of cheap champagne.

Fitz toasted their marriage and paid for their room for the night. Maisie barely even thought of her first wedding night and being at the hotel. Her past was exactly that now...the past.

By the time evening fell and they were alone in the room she only had good things on her mind.

"Mrs. Merle Dixon," he grinned.

Maisie lay back on the bed and squealed, covering her face with her hands. She felt like she had won the lottery. She had everything she wanted and it was better than any book or song, so much better.

"Come here," she said softly.

He walked to the bed and lay down next to her.

"I'm keeping you now, legally," she smiled, wrapping her arms around him.

"You've owned me since I first found you in my shed. You turned my whole world upside down."

"Make love to me, Mr. Dixon."

"You got it," he said, rolling over her.

Merle looked down at Maisie's face for a moment and there was only one thought in his head.

"I hope our babies have your eyes."

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 _Merle reconnected with his son and daughter but it took time to bridge the gap that time had created. After a few visits they got to know him again and Maisie. It began to feel natural over time and when Maisie became pregnant that fall the children were very excited to have a step-sibling on the way._

 _Pregnancy was a beautiful time for Merle and Maisie, with walks in the woods, reading poems, making love and sharing their time. Merle loved the look of her carrying his child and doted on her for the full nine months._

 _Their son arrived on a spring day, born in the same cabin where he'd been conceived, and he did have Maisie's eyes._

 _~The End~_

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 **I hope nobody feels this is rushed because I actually wrote about 20 more chapters then I had originally intended to lol. Believe it or not this began as an excuse to write Merle having sex in a cabin in the woods but it grew as these things tend to.**

 **I hope everyone is satisfied and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting this Merle story.**

 **I do love my Merle XOXOX**

 **I posted a oneshot today '711 & The Holy Trinity'**

 **and I'm writing a 2 chapter piece and posted the first chapter today too 'I'm the One'**

 **Next after that in about a week I'll be posting a dark, and angsty Caryl story that should be kinda interesting.**

 **After that is another Merle story that's gonna be odd but I need to do hella research on that first.**

 **Anyhoo! love you and thank you for the support and all the reviews. Teagan XOXO**

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